Pokemon Black and White: Unova Adventure
by SkyhighAngel
Summary: In a tiny town at the edge of the map, a well-known professor is about to ignite what would become a grand adventure. Join Hilda, Cheren, and Bianca as they embark on a journey through the Unova region. Loosely follows the Pokémon White storyline.
1. Chapter 1: A Day Like No Other

In the region of Unova; the sun has climbed out of the horizon line. Its golden glow engulfs the land, banishing the darkness. Clouds tinted lavender by the blush of dawn smoothly sail across the sky where the stars have vanished; the trees dance in the wind, wild Pokémon scamper about here and there. A new day has come in the Pokémon world.

_"Good Morning Professor!"_

_"Top of the morning to you ma'am! I have a delivery for your daughter!"_

_"Oh is that what I think it is the pok-."_

_"Shh… don't spoil the surprise!"_

_"Don't worry, she just woke up she's upstairs. I'll let her know you came by when she finishes getting ready."_

_"Of course! Thank you!"_

* * *

"Hilda? Are you awake?"

A brunette teen poked her head out of her bedroom, "Yeah! What's up?"

There stood her mother with a box in her arms, "Professor Juniper stopped by while you were asleep, she wanted to-."

"Oh my gosh is that what I think it is? Thanks mom!"

The girl excitingly took the box from her mother's arms and hurried into her room. Her mother chuckled lightly before heading back down the stairs.

* * *

A young man ran down the stairs. Today was the day! He had just gotten word that the delivery had just gotten to Hilda's house and he was ready to rush on over. After slipping on his blue shoes he hurried out of his room and down the steps.

A woman reading the newspaper at the table turned her head, "Where you off too in such a hurry Cheren?"

"Hey mom, I'm going over to Hilda's."

"Miss her already huh?" She replied in a teasing tone.

Cheren's face flushed pink, "It's not like that Mom the Pokémon we're getting today got delivered to her house."

She kept smiling, "I know dear, I know. Have fun okay?"

* * *

"Mom! Dad! I'm going over to Hilda's house now! I'm getting my Pokémon!"

The girl's mother was very happy for her, "Oh that's wonderful Bianca! Have a good time okay?"

Dad was happy too, but worried at the same time, "Be careful Bianca, and don't do anything reckless okay? Don't stray too far from town either!"

"Honey it's fine." His wife reassured, "Let her enjoy herself."

"But she needs to be careful too, she's just starting out."

"Don't worry about it darling, remember you were once inexperienced too.

"I should get going." Bianca mentioned, "Bye mom! Bye dad!"

* * *

Hilda sat on her bed, anxiously awaiting the arrival of her childhood friends, the wrapped up box received from the local Professor sat on her desk.

She knew what was in the box and that only added to her excitement, _"Professor Juniper is letting us have Pokémon! I've always wanted a Pokémon this is so cool!" _she squealed in her head.

At the age of fifteen, Hilda was the most fun-loving tomboy that has ever run through Nuvema Town. She lives with her mother, who always looked at her daughter with joy in her eyes.

After a few minutes, there was a knock on her opened bedroom door, "Hilda?"

She jumped to her feet, "There you are Cheren! What kept ya?"

The dark-haired boy pushed up his glasses, "I just heard from Professor Juniper that the Pokémon were here."

"That's right! We're getting our Pokémon today! But we should wait for Bianca first."

"Right, of course." He tapped his foot, "What is taking her so long anyway?"

"Calm down Cheren, you know Bianca is always like this." Hilda noted, keeping her impish smile. His attitude didn't surprise her. But for Bianca to be late on their important day, it was understandable.

"Helloooooooo!" a bubbly voice sprung from the door.

"Bianca! Good to see ya made it!" Hilda exclaimed, "Check it out! We get our Pokémon today!"

The fair-haired girl innocently skipped into the room, "Yay! I'm so excited! Sorry I was a little late!"

"It's okay Bianca. We didn't have to wait too long, right Cheren?"

Cheren was not amused, "Bianca… I thought even you would know that today is not a good day to be late! I was about to tell Hilda that we should've had the Pokémon delivered to your house!"

Bianca bowed her head, "I'm really so sorry Cheren, and Hilda."

Hilda hastily replied, "Look we're all here now so let's just pick a Pokémon all right?"

"Let's do that! Hilda gets to pick first because the Professor brought the Pokémon to her house!"

"Naturally." Cheren agreed.

Hilda stepped closer to the box and began to unwrap it. First she took the bow off and placed it on the table, next she gracefully undid the green ribbon that surrounded the decorated box, and took the lid off revealing three gleaming brand new poke balls, each containing a Pokémon that would accompany them here on out. Including a note from Professor Juniper,

_I've brought three Pokémon, one for you and one for each of your friends. Please settle your choices politely. Enjoy your Pokémon!_

She released all three Pokémon out of the poke balls at once to get a better look at them, and had to turn away to protect her eyes.

"Eek I can't see!" Bianca yelped. Pulling her green hat down to cover her face. Cheren too had to shield his eyes the light was so intense.

Once the light dimmed seconds later, Cheren took a peek, "Hey girls, it's not as bright now you can look."

Both girls simultaneously uncovered their eyes, revealing three Pokémon.

The grass type Snivy.

The water type Oshawott.

The fire type Tepig.

Bianca wasted no time to fawn over the cuties, "Oh, how cute!"

Cheren rolled his eyes, _"I knew she would say that."_

Hilda's eyes scanned the little Pokémon. They all looked like great Pokémon. As for her choice, her mind couldn't keep off the Tepig; she decided a fire type would fit her unruly character best.

Smiling, she kneeled in front of the pig Pokémon, "How would you like to be my partner?"

Tepig's face lit up, he let out a happy cry and jumped into Hilda's arms.

Hilda giggled, "I'm guessing that's a yes!"

"Tepig!"

She stood with the fire pig in her arms, "Okay! Who's next?"

Bianca stepped forward without giving it a second thought. "I'm choosing this Pokémon!" she declared, picking up the Snivy. "Cheren that one is yours!"

Cheren raised an eyebrow at Bianca, since when did she get to decide his Pokémon? He shrugged it off quickly because he wanted Oshawott from the start anyway. After all, Oshawott looked like a cool Pokémon.

"I think you'll be an excellent Pokémon Oshawott."

The sea otter Pokémon saluted his new trainer, "Osha!"

"All right then everyone has chosen a Pokémon!" Hilda beamed, _"To be honest that was a lot easier than I thought it would be."_

An idea flashed into Bianca's mind, "Hey! I know! Let's have a Pokémon battle!"

Cheren sighed annoyingly, "Bianca… honestly…"

"It'll be okay! They're sooooo tiny!"

"It doesn't matter; it's not a good idea to have a Pokémon battle inside a house."

"Don't be a worrywart Cheren little ones aren't very strong yet! So we'll let them battle to get stronger!"

Hilda rolled her eyes at the two quarreling; this goes back a lot farther than today. Cheren and Bianca have clashing personality traits. How they stay such great friends is beyond her.

"Hilda!" Bianca spontaneously called out, "It's a Pokémon battle! Come on!"

Hilda knew Cheren had a point, but she was the type of girl who found it impossible to turn down a challenge!

"You're on!" she fired back.

Trainer Hilda vs. Trainer Bianca! Bianca sends out Snivy! Hilda sends out Tepig!

Bianca went first, "Snivy! Use tackle!"

The grass Pokémon ran straight for Tepig.

Tepig jumped on Hilda's bed barely before getting hit, "All right Tepig! Tackle!" Hilda commanded.

Tepig leaped on the floor and hit Snivy just as he turned around. Snivy crashed into the bookshelves sending books flying in all different directions.

"Snivy are you okay?" Bianca called out. Snivy leaped out from under the books. "Okay Snivy! Use vine whip!"

Snivy produced vines and they headed straight for Tepig. They picked up the fire pig. _"Oh snap_!" Hilda thought.

The vines threw Tepig across the room where he landed into a half full trash can. Tepig tackled itself out of the trash, scattering the contents.

"Snivy! Use vine whip one more time!"

More vines, this time Hilda was not going to let that happen, "Tepig! Use ember!"

Tepig sent small embers about, burning the vines and distracting Snivy.

"All right Tepig, now use tackle!"

Tepig charged full speed and hit Snivy full force sending the small green Pokémon through the air, knocking over a potted plant.

"Uh oh… Snivy are you okay?" Bianca asked again. But Snivy had no energy left to stand this time.

Cheren adjusted his glasses, "Looks like Hilda won."

Bianca returned Snivy to his Poke ball, "You'll be okay Snivy! Come on back now!"

"Wow we won it!" Hilda cheered, Tepig skipped to her and hopped into her open arms.

Despite having lost, Bianca was quite delighted having her first Pokémon battle. The lighthearted girl jumped up and down excitingly, "Wow Hilda! You're going to become an awesome trainer I just know it!"

Cheren looked around the room as the girls laughed, it was a complete disaster; Looked almost like a whirlwind blew through. As a matter of fact, that's exactly what it looked like. He told Bianca that it was a bad idea to have a battle indoors, but she challenged Hilda anyway. Of course Hilda isn't going to decline a challenge no matter where she was!

"Hey Cheren how about you come and join us?" Bianca invited.

In response, he frustratingly put his hand to his head, he calmly says to her, "Maybe you should look around first…?"

"Huh? What are you talking…about…?" Her sentence slowed down and became quieter as she looked around the room, "…uh oh…"

Hilda gazed around for herself, "Oh wow… we really messed this place up."

Cheren put his hand down, "This is exactly what I was talking about when I said it was a bad idea to have a Pokémon battle inside a house!"

"Relax Cheren!" Hilda countered, "Look at the positive, these Pokémon are so little but at least we now know how powerful they still are!"

Bianca looked at Hilda nervously, "Sorry… about this Hilda…"

"Don't worry about it Bianca this is fixable! I'm just happy we all have a Pokémon now!"

Bianca's expression changed from worried to ecstatic, "Wow! Pokémon are so amaaaaaazing!"

Cheren, with his hand back at his face, moved toward Bianca, "You… are completely hopeless… Come on… we better go apologize for the messed up room."

The girls watched him leave the room. Bianca adjusted her orange vest, "I better go apologize too. The battle was my idea after all."

She briskly left to catch up with Cheren, meanwhile Hilda took a moment to herself. Where to even begin with all of this? The bed's a mess, there are books all over the floor, and the trash can had tipped over.

"Oh my gosh… How did those footprints get on the wall that high?" Hilda wondered, "Geez! They're going above the window! How did that happen?"

Turning to her TV she sighed in relief, "Oh thank goodness the Wii isn't damaged. My computer looks fine too."

Wasting no more time, she skipped out of her room and trotted down the stairs to catch up with her friends. Both were speaking to her mother.

"I'm very sorry about this trouble ma'am." Cheren apologized.

"I am too. We can clean the mess." Bianca offered.

The older woman shook her head, "Oh, don't worry about it dear. Instead, you should go to Professor Juniper to thank her for the Pokémon."

Cheren smiled, "Of course! Thank you! Well in that case please excuse us." He went outside.

"I have to go home first." Bianca mentioned, "Thanks for having us over!" She disappeared from the house in an instant.

"My goodness Hilda, Pokémon battles sure are stirring are they? I could hear the Pokémon clear down here!"

Hilda nodded her head, "I didn't think we'd mess up the room that bad though."

She pulled a potion out of her apron pocket, "It's all right dear. You should heal your Pokémon after a battle."

She healed Tepig's battle wounds. Tepig didn't seem to mind it had gotten hurt, it looked sort of happy in fact. He was staring up at Hilda with an adorable smile.

"This brings back memories from when I was a trainer Hilda. You're going to thank the professor too, right?"

"I will mom, but first I'm going to wait for Cheren and Bianca. I'll be going now!"

Hilda rushed out in the mid-spring weather; a flock of Pidoves loitering in front of her house flew off into the early morning sky, she and Tepig watched them fly away, off into the clear sapphire sky.

"Hey Hilda!" Cheren walked quickly from his house.

"Cheren! What did your parents say?"

"They were happy for me, so where's Bianca?"

Hilda looked at Bianca's house then turned back to Cheren, "She hasn't come out of her house yet."

Cheren sighed his I'm-so-annoyed-sigh, "Late again as usual."

"I know what we can do! Let's have a battle while we wait! It'll be okay now that we're outside!"

"Hm! I believe it is!"

"Unless you want to battle in my brother's room!" Hilda giggled.

"No thank you, I wouldn't want you getting in trouble."

She looked teasingly at him, "Aww okay then."

"Well Hilda, looks like you're going to be my first opponent, in my first Pokémon battle!"

Now it's Cheren's turn to challenge Hilda, he sends out Oshawott. Tepig jumps out of Hilda's arms ready to battle for her again!

"Tepig use tackle!"

"Oshawott use tackle too!"

Both Pokémon ran for each other top speed determined to overpower the other, when they crashed into each other it was clear that they were equal in strength, they both flew backwards several feet from each other.

Hilda briefly hesitated before giving another command, "Tepig use tackle again!"

Tepig snapped out of it and slammed into Oshawott while he was still dazed. Provoking Cheren to give direction, "Oshawott razor shell!"

Oshawott took his tiny, beige shell and flung it like a Frisbee mid-air. Tepig's playful instincts enticed him to hop over it like a jump rope.

"Tackle it Tepig!"

"Oshawott razor shell again!"

Oshawott threw the scallop again, Once again Tepig took a running jump over it.

"Now Oshawott use water gun!"

The Sea otter Pokémon shot a flood of water out of his mouth. Tepig's a fire type, only natural for him to avoid water; he dashed to the side dodging the oncoming blast. Unfortunately, putting him in the path of the razor shell, striking him in the backside before Hilda realized the shell was returning.

Tepig plopped on the ground, and strained to get up.

"Tepig try another tackle!"

Tepig charged for his opponent, but his energy was fading fast.

"Oshawott use tackle!"

Oshawott ran full speed at the fire pig and tackled him as hard as he could. Tepig flew through the air and crashed on the ground. He had no energy left. This time, Hilda lost the battle.

"Oh no Tepig!"

"Awesome! Great job Oshawott!" Cheren applauded.

Hilda took the loss with grace, "I lost… Tepig good try, come on back now." She returned him back to the Poke ball.

Cheren approached Hilda, "Here, let me heal your Pokémon."

"You sure have potential Cheren." Hilda complimented, "You could become the champion like you said you'd be."

"I will someday, I strive to become stronger! Now that I've finally become a trainer everything starts here!"

His inspirational speech got interrupted sound of a slamming door.

"Hm? What was that?" he asked.

Bianca came from around the corner of her house. Her head was down enough to where her hat was covering her eyes.

Hilda intercepted her friend, "Bianca are you okay?"

When Bianca's eyes came into view, Hilda knew something must have happened. They looked moist and she was blinking at a fast pace.

"Oh… It's okay." Bianca replied, "It's fine really!"

Hilda decided that whatever was bothering Bianca she didn't want to push it. Today was the day they got their first Pokémon and she wanted everyone to remember this with a smile, "Well come on then! Let's go see the Professor! Me and Cheren are ready."

"Yay! Race you guys!" She dashed for the lab.

Hilda gave a "Hey!" and took off after her. Cheren ran for the girls, confused at what just happened.

"What's going on!?" He called out to the runaways.

"First one to Professor Juniper wins!" Bianca squealed back.

"You can't beat me Bianca!" Hilda mischievously shouted.

"Just watch me!"

Cheren put more sprint in his legs, "Hey come on you two, slow down!"

The trio tore down the dirt road like it was a jailbreak. With the Professor's Lab in sight the tension grew as well as their running speed. Bianca let out a determined yell and galloped just ahead of her friends to jump and grab the door knob before anyone else can!

"WINNER!" she stated.

"Not until you get to the Professor!" Hilda roared. Still bound with energy she leapt and tackled Bianca clear through the door. Cheren skidded inside the lab and joined the dog pile trying to break them up.

The trio rolled around the lab amidst all the playful hair-pulling, shirt-grabbing, and pushing. Startled assistants had to make a dive for it to avoid the oncoming chaos.

Professor Juniper looked up from her work upon hearing the ruckus. When she checked it out, she came upon a lively sight of the three friends wrestling with each other.

"Everyone! EVERYONE!" She yelled so loud it echoed across the lab. The teenagers froze where they were on the floor, "What is the matter with you guys?"

The three untangled themselves and got to their feet, completely mortified.

"We-we're terribly sorry Professor…" Cheren stuttered, "I guess we got a little carried away."

"I'll say, save that energy for the field! Now then, I have a task for you young people. Allow me to introduce myself again. My name is…"

"Professor Juniper?" Cheren interrupted, "We know your name."

"Come now Cheren. This is not a time to take things lightly! Today is a day to remember always. It's best to behave with some formality."

Professor Juniper was quite refined being an intelligent professor. But Hilda sensed a surprise coming for her to insist the proper manners.

"That being so, once again, my name is Professor Juniper, and I am researching when and how the creatures called Pokémon came into existence. As for why I gave you a Pokémon…"

"It's for the Pokedex right?" Cheren interrupted again.

Instead of being annoyed, Professor Juniper's seemed surprised, "Well, I'm impressed. Nice work Cheren! You've already studied Pokémon extensively haven't you?"

Not that this was a big surprise to anyone, studying was Cheren's pastime when he wasn't tagging along with Hilda and Bianca. So it's only natural that he holds superior knowledge when it comes to Pokémon.

Professor Juniper cleared her throat and continued, "Even so let me explain for everyone's sake. The Pokédex is a high-tech device that automatically records the Pokémon you come across! So, I want you three to visit many places and meet all the Pokémon in the Unova region! This is my request."

All three of them jumped from amazement.

"An adventure? Seriously!?" Hilda cheerfully asked.

"Of course! Hilda! Cheren! Bianca! You'll go on an adventure to complete the Pokédex, will you not?"

"Of course we will!" she excitingly answered, bouncing on her tip toes. Sure she could have answered with some reserve being what an important day it was. But she didn't care, she was happy.

Cheren of course was the unpretentious one, "Thank you very much Professor. Thanks to you I can become a trainer like I always wanted."

Bianca not surprisingly was the most excited of the three, "Really!? Oh my gosh! Totally!" she hopped all around like a small child in a candy store.

Professor Juniper clapped her hands together, "All of you thanks! You've given me the best possible answer! Now go on! The Pokémon world awaits!" She handed them Pokedexs and Poke balls to capture Pokémon.

Hilda felt restless at that point; she loved having her own little adventures in Nuvema. But now she gets to experience a real one! No doubt in her mind that beyond their hometown, Unova offered plenty of fresh and seasoned adventure for the young teens!

"Um, since the Professor asked us… it's okay to go on an adventure right?" Bianca deliberated, "I can explore and maybe find out what I want to do in life. I would really like that."

"Of course we can." Cheren responded, "We can travel however we want while we complete the Pokedex."

Hilda placed her hand over her chest, "I'm so excited now. My heart is just pumping."

"I'm excited too Hilda." Cheren said, "Finally, I can become a Pokémon trainer. I'll have real battles with other trainers and get stronger. Wait and see!"

"What about you Hilda? What are you and Tepig going to do?" Bianca asked.

Hilda paused for a moment before answering, "I honestly don't know yet Bianca, I guess I'll learn as I go."

"I'm going to get back to what I was doing." Professor Juniper said, "Try not to destroy my lab on the way out okay?" she sarcastically smiled, and the teens returned with sheepish looks.

"I… think I'll go outside." Hilda muttered before power-walking out the door.

"Uh-Hey wait up!" Bianca called for her.

The friends went outside into the cool spring breeze and noticed Hilda's mother was waiting for them.

"There you all are!" she greeted, "So? What did the Professor say?"

Hilda spoke at a fast pace without hesitation, "Mom! Guess what! Professor Juniper asked us to complete the Pokedex! We're going to travel Unova!"

"Really? That's wonderful! Actually, I knew she was going to ask. That's why I brought the three of you town maps." She held out three rolled up papers.

Hilda put the map in her bag, "Thanks mom!"

"Here's one for you Cheren, and you too Bianca. As for the room… there's nothing to worry about. Like I said, I'll take care of cleaning up."

"Th-thank you so much!" Bianca expressed.

"Thanks again mom."

"No problem! Ah, Pokémon. They are so cute but they have enough power to destroy an entire bedroom! With Pokémon like that by your side I'm sure you'll be safe!"

"We should go talk to our parents." Cheren mentioned.

"I'll let them know, In addition to Pokémon, you'll find lots of places you like in the Unova region. You also might discover something about yourselves! Have a great trip!" she bid before walking away.

Cheren turned to the girls, "Shall we head to Route one?"

"Let's go, let's go!" Bianca repeated.


	2. Chapter 2: An Unusual Proposition

Bianca was the first to reach where Route one begins, she looked forward with a sunny demeanor, "All right! Let's take our first step into Route one together!"

Hilda, Cheren, and Bianca stood in a perfect horizontal line at the edge of the Nuvema Town border. They had their arms locked like a human barrier.

"Hilda! Cheren! On the count of three! One… two… three!" the adventurers trotted with confidence into Route one, their figures being silhouetted by the morning light. Brightly colored flowers aligned the dirt path, cherry blossom petals twirled gracefully through the sky, carried by the wind.

"Oh my gosh! I wonder what will happen next! This is sooooo exciting!" Bianca cried with joy.

Hilda nodded, "It's so cool to finally get to explore farther than the town boarder line!"

"It sure is!" Cheren agreed, "Come on, Accumula Town is just down the road. Let's keep going."

The three adventurers continued down the path arm in arm. Hilda's long, chestnut-brown ponytail trailed behind them, bouncing freely in the wind and shining bright and lustrous in the sunlight.

"Hey Hilda, didn't your brother go on a journey once?" Bianca asked.

"Yeah, Hilbert went on a journey when he was fourteen."

"He did become the champion didn't he?" Cheren inquired.

"Yes he did, but he had taken a break from that."

Hilbert is Hilda's sixteen year old brother, two years earlier he left on a journey with his Lillipup. After becoming the champion, he decided that his true desire was to travel, not await challenges in the Pokémon League.

"He travels around with Iris now." Hilda continued, "A girl he had met during his travels."

"Ohhhh, I know who you're talking about. That's the girl with the purple hair who trains dragon-types right?"

"Yeah that's her."

"Those two are sooooo close! It totally has to make you wonder-"

"Come on, Accumula Town is just down the road let's go." Cheren interjected, before walking quickly down the road.

"Cheren wait up!" Hilda went trotting down the road to catch up.

Bianca stood there for a moment; annoyed that Cheren interrupted her, before clumsily taking off for her friends, "H-hey come on! Wait for meeee!"

Accumula Town was quite different from what they had become used to seeing from Nuvema.

"Whoa…" Bianca awed, "There are like houses way up there! Look there are houses down in there too!"

"Imagine living in one of those houses, that would be awesome." Hilda commented, "If I were to pick a house here. I'd pick one that's in the sky."

Cheren observed, "Hm, I'd rather live in a normal house. It's different, but I prefer that things stay the same."

Just as they were studying the difference of the house builds, a guy standing in front of them suddenly pointed out, "Hey there's something going on in the plaza!"

"Well let's have a little look-see." Another guy says before the two walk off.

"What's going on?" Cheren questioned.

"I haven't gotten a clue Cheren." Hilda replied, "Let's go check it out."

They followed the guys to a crowd of people with their attention focused on something.

Luckily, the crowd was not too tightly packed, and the three made their way through with careful steps. Now near the front of the crowd, they see a line of bizarrely uniformed people. They all looked the same. Literally, they had the same outfits, same hair, practically the same faces. Almost like mirror images.

The person in the center walked out of the line, clearing a path for a middle-aged man to slowly walk through. Now there was so much abnormality about this guy from every angle, the top of his freaky robes resemble the battlements of a castle, his concealed right eye and right arm gave him a spooky vibe. Once he was in front, the dressed up person rejoined his spot in line.

After a brief hesitation the older man spoke, "Greetings everyone, my name is Ghetsis. I am here representing Team Plasma. Today, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to talk to you about Pokémon liberation."

That sentence initiated a stream of small talk among the townsfolk.

Hilda was also skeptical, _"Pokémon Liberation?" _

Ghetsis paced to the left, quieting the gossip and continuing his speech.

"I'm sure most of you believe that we humans and Pokémon are partners that have come to live together because we want and need each other. However…Is that really the truth? Have you ever considered that perhaps we humans… only assume this is the truth?"

He paced to the right, back in the center.

"Pokémon are subject to the selfish commands of trainers…They get pushed around when they are our 'partners' at work… Can anyone say with confidence that there is no truth in what I'm saying?"

The crowd gave no response, perhaps they're thinking deep about what this man is saying. Hilda leaned close to Cheren saying in a low voice, "What is this guy talking about?"

"I don't know Hilda, he's not making any sense…"

Ghetsis paced farther to the right,

"Now, everyone, Pokémon are different from humans. They are living beings that contain unknown potential. They are living beings from whom we humans have much to learn. Tell me, what is our responsibility to these wonderful beings called Pokémon?"

Everything was so quiet you could hear a pin drop echo. Ghetsis strode calmly past his subordinates.

"That's right!" he abruptly announced. "We must liberate the Pokémon!"

_"Liberate Pokémon?"_ Hilda's mind questioned, _"Why would we do that?"_

As if Ghetsis had read her mind he said, "Then, and only then, will humans and Pokémon truly be equals."

Bianca tapped Hilda's shoulder and whispered, "Hilda… I don't like the sound of this…"

"I'm sure it's nothing Bianca…This guy cannot be serious…"

"Everyone, I end my words here today imploring you to consider the relationship between people and Pokémon… and the correct way to proceed. We sincerely appreciate your attention."

After his conclusion, they exited town with a series of complex formations, resembling military soldiers.

A gentleman from the crowd spoke out, "About that speech… What do you think we should do?"

"Liberate Pokémon?" A younger man answered, "That's not possible!"

The crowd rapidly dispersed and everyone went on with their day. Hilda, Cheren, and Bianca were left standing there baffled.

"Um… guys?" Bianca began, "Was that for real?"

"I would like to think not. Trainers and Pokémon help each other out!" Cheren asserted.

Hilda agreed with her friends, the idea of separating Pokémon from people sounded like absolute nonsense. What good would come from that?

"Don't worry guys. I mean, doing that would be impossible!"

A monotone voice came from a few feet away, "I wouldn't be so sure."

There stood a young man appearing slightly older than the three, he had waist-length pale green hair tied back in a wild ponytail. He approached the group slowly.

"Your Pokémon… Just now, it was saying…"

Cheren was uncertain, "Huh? Pokémon talking? That's an odd thing to say."

"Yes, they're talking. You three don't hear it? How sad."

"Who are you?" Hilda asked without really paying attention to what he was saying.

She might have sounded a bit rude, but the young man answered kindly, "My name is N."

"My name is Cheren, and these are my friends, Hilda and Bianca. We were asked to complete the Pokedex, and we just left on our journey. My main goal is to become the champion, though."

"A journey…huh? So… You're going to battle and hurt many, many Pokémon for that."

Hilda, Cheren, and Bianca exchanged confused looks.

"I'm a trainer too…" N continued, "But I can't help but wonder… Are Pokémon really happy that way?"

He stepped closer to the group and focused his attention on Hilda, "Well, Hilda, is it?" he asked.

"Um… yeah." Hilda confirmed.

"Let me hear your Pokémon's voice again!"

Hilda may not have understood fully what he said, but she did notice him take a poke ball out of his pocket.

"Pidove! Go!" he commanded.

A bird Pokémon emerged from the Poke ball light. Hilda mimicked in releasing Tepig from his Poke ball. She then pulled out her Pokedex, when she opened it an electronic female voice reads to her,

_"Pidove, the Tiny Pigeon Pokémon. A Pidove flock's cooing can get extremely noisy. These Pokémon live in cities. Flocks often gather in parks and plazas."_

"Go ahead, Make your move." N said.

Hilda firmed her expression, "Tepig! Use ember now!"

The orb at the end of Tepig's tail glowed orange and he released spiraling streams of tiny flames from its nose, heading right for Pidove.

"Pidove! Gust!"

Pidove blew all the embers into the concrete.

"Tepig!" the tiny pig Pokémon wailed, resisting the strong wind.

Hilda didn't lose rhythm, "Tepig! Use tackle!"

Tepig shook it off and slammed into Pidove, the bird Pokémon flew right into the small embers still lit on the concrete.

The Pidove cooed in pain shooting up into the air with a trail of smoke behind it. It looked like a rocket that just left the launch pad. Gravity brought it back down with a rough landing.

N's eyes glowed with surprise; something about Hilda's Tepig was something he had never seen before…

Nonetheless he continued, "Pidove use Quick attack!"

Pidove jumped up and made light quick steps and lunged to Tepig.

"Tepig! Ember!"

Tepig again sent embers flying out of his nostrils, nailing Pidove before it could reach Tepig.

Pidove fell to the ground with no strength in it left. Tepig jumped for joy.

Bianca applauded, "Go Hilda! Go Hilda! Go Hilda Go!" she praised in a chanting fashion.

Cheren smiled toward Hilda, pushing up his glasses as he routinely does, "Good job Hilda."

"Thanks guys." Hilda said sincerely, "That was a bit of a tougher match than last time. A little more exciting too. No offense guys." She joked.

"Geez Hilda…" Bianca giggled.

Quietly, N returned his Pokémon, "I never thought I'd hear Pokémon say such things…" he murmured looking toward the triad of pals.

Hilda turned around and walked up to N, "You're a pretty good Pokémon trainer you know."

N took a glance at Hilda, "…As long as Pokémon stay confined in Poke Balls... Pokémon will never become perfect beings. I have to change the world for Pokémon, because they're my friends."

Hilda became perplexed at N's disagreements but before she could debate he went away, she watched him go and leave town out of the same gate those Team Plasma weirdoes left.

"Huuuuh? What was that all about?" Bianca pondered.

Cheren shook his head, "I don't know… strange guy but I'm not going to worry about it. Listen, I'm going on ahead okay? I'm going to challenge the gym leader in Striaton City."

"Oooooki doki then! See you later Cheren!"

Cheren went on ahead. Meanwhile, Hilda's mind was telling her that what this N guy is going on about is nothing more than complete fantasy. I mean for crying out loud! Dividing Pokémon and people is like living in a world where Pokémon don't exist!

"Are you worried too Hilda? About what that N guy said?"

Hilda smoothed her ponytail down, "I don't think I will be. Did any part of what he said make sense to you?"

"Not at all... I mean… the thought of people and Pokémon being separated from one another is so silly!"

Hilda looked around the streets of this town, everyone was going about their day normally as if nothing had ever happened. She was further assured as no one appeared to take Ghetisis's speech seriously.

"Exactly my point, Come on, Cheren has already moved ahead didn't he? Let's go to Striaton City."

"Right behind you Hilda!"

The girls locked arms and started for Striaton City.

* * *

**Author's note: Hello everyone! SkyhighAngel here! I would like to mention that I know N does not first battle with you using a Pidove. He uses a Purrloin. I changed the Pokémon he uses to make what I have planned fit better. :) I would also like to take this time to mention that I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING. I AM JUST A FAN OF THE POKEMON SERIES :) Thank you!**


	3. Chapter 3: A Copycat With Sticky Paws!

Numerous trees stood tall beside the dirt path of Route two. The path to Nimbasa City was straightforward with a few turns. Hilda and Bianca trotted along the dusty path hoping to catch up with Cheren.

Bianca suddenly stopped, "Hilda…"

"What's the matter?"

"Shh… Listen…"

Bianca's eyes fixated on the bushes

Hilda asked, "What? What is it?" She directed her attention to where Bianca was looking, sure enough, the grass was rustling. The rustling and snapping become more and more intense until finally a beautiful purple feline hopped from the thicket.

The girls got caught off guard by the pretty cat, "Wow…"

Hilda took out her Pokedex,

_"Purrloin, the Devious Pokémon. They steal from people for fun, but their victims can't help but forgive them. Their deceptively cute act is perfect. When angered, it uses its claws to fight back."_

"They sure got the cute part right!" Bianca sunnily said, "I can't take my eyes off of her!"

Hilda clapped her Pokedex shut and nodded, "She's so beautiful…"

Purrloin didn't mind the staring, in fact she enjoyed the attention. She was preforming more cute acts. It didn't take long for Hilda and Bianca to become fully enamored by the cute cat Pokémon.

"Just look at her…" Hilda gazed adoringly, "Look at that cute tail, and those lovely eyes."

"She's sooooo adorable…"

Hilda and Bianca seemed completely immersed in their own little fantasy. Unaware of anything that was going on. Purrloin smirked behind the cuteness, stalking toward the two, quickly and quietly…

***SNATCH***

"Hey!" Bianca suddenly yelled out.

Hilda snapped out of it, "What the-!? What just happened?" Purrloin had seemingly disappeared.

"I-I don't know, she suddenly…AIEEE!" Bianca shrieked, "My hat! That Purrloin stole my hat!"

Hilda spun around, she couldn't believe her eyes. Bianca's hat was gone; she was running around desperately trying to find the light-fingered Purrloin.

"That Purrloin stole my hat!" Bianca repeated.

"Bianca calm down! We'll find her! Look, there are her tracks. Let's follow them!"

The Purrloin stood on her hind legs and put on Bianca's hat, she had a bit of trouble getting it to a secure position because the hat didn't exactly fit the shape of her head, once she did she modeled herself via her reflection in a pond and did all sorts of poses.

"Purr-Purrloin!" she meowed, impersonating Bianca's terrified expression, "Purrloin… Purrloin!"

"Found her Bianca!" A voice came from behind her.

The girls came from around the corner, noticing the feline imitator wearing Bianca's hat, "Look Bianca she looks even cuter with your hat on!"

"Purrloin, Purrloin! Purr-loin!" The cute cat continuously meowed.

"Look Bianca! She's acting like you!" Hilda laughed, "She is so adorable!"

"I feel so weird without my hat I want it back!" Bianca protested.

Purrloin in response, posed, sending Bianca a wink. Bianca fell for the kitty cat's charisma, "Oh you're right Hilda she is so cute! Even if she acts like me!"

Excitement bubbled in Hilda's heart, "Oh come let me hug you!" she approached the Purrloin with her arms stretched out.

Purrloin grinned, she saw another opportunity to steal again when she noticed that Hilda's bag wasn't completely closed. Closer… closer…

Just as Hilda was about to get in stealing-length, a Poke ball rolled out of the pocket causing Purrloin to hit the button, the tiny cat gasped, changed to light and got sucked into the Poke ball.

Hilda snapped out of her fantasy and instead of finding a Purrloin she found a wiggling Poke ball. Weakly struggling until the red light on the button went dim and the Poke ball settled. She had caught her first Pokémon! In such an unusual manner too!

"ALL RIGHT!" she picked up the Poke ball, cradling it in her hands.

"Bianca! Did you see that!? I caught my first Pokémon! I have to say though, I did not expect to catch my first Pokémon like this. But still!"

Bianca had a spaced-out look on her face, she was still under the Purrloin's spell. Hilda relaxed from her victory pose and sighed, "Oh for the love of…"

She grabbed the dropped hat and approached the silly girl. Then delivered a finger poke of doom between her eyes. The power worked its promise as Bianca snapped out of it.

"Ow! What was that for?" she questioned, rubbing her head.

"Here's your hat back." Hilda replied, handing Bianca her hat and proceeding down the road.

"Oh, thank you!" She looked around, "Where's the Purrloin?"

Hilda looked over her shoulder and let her held up Poke ball do the talking. Bianca's mouth dropped open, "No way, when did you-!? I was going to catch her!"

"I can honestly say I didn't mean to. But I want her!" Hilda winked, "Try again next time."

Bianca made a face to Hilda's retreating back before running for her, "Hey wait for me!"

* * *

**Author's note: Hello everyone! SkyhighAngel here! So how about that? A Purrlion that likes to mimic people! I'm going to have a lot of fun with that XD. Also I'd like to note that this chapter was short in comparison to the first two, still enjoyable to write nonetheless :) See you later! Stay flying! :D**


	4. Chapter 4: Dreamyard Disorder

Hilda and Bianca arrived at the bright Striaton City! Outside of both their familiar zones, Hilda and Bianca would occasionally have to sidestep to dodge oncoming pedestrians. Something they never had to do in the earlier towns. To make this city seem even more crowded this is where the Pokémon Trainers School is found.

Bianca stopped once again like she did in Route two.

Hilda turned upon noticing her friend had stopped, "Bianca? What's on your mind?"

Bianca gave a 'be quiet' gesture, "Shh… I just heard something. It was really quiet but I heard it."

Hilda was bewildered, how Bianca could hear anything below a pin drop in this loud city was beyond her.

Bianca expression went from calm to surprised, "There it is again! It came from over there!" she took off running.

"Wait! Bianca slow down!" Hilda took off after her.

Hilda chased Bianca down a secluded path, passing a sign that read, _Dreamyard_.

As they hurried further down the path of trees the babble of the city grew softer and softer until there were only the discreet sounds of nature. The air was cool and the grass still soaked from the morning dew, most of the area shaded from the countless trees. Sunlight peered down between the leaves, creating glowing rays.

Bianca stopped, and focused again.

Hilda caught up to her, "Bianca? What are you doing?"

"The sound came from here. I'm sure of it! It sounded like a Pokémon, I know it came from here!"

The girls looked around, in the clearing of the peaceful yet mystical woods stood ruined walls and rubble, it was surprising that the walls were still standing. They were so broken that they appeared they could collapse at any moment.

In the midst of a breeze, a lonely call sounded through the air…

"Did you hear that Hilda?"

Hilda realized now what Bianca was talking about, "I heard something too!"

"It sounded like it was coming from the other side of the wall!"

"Come on! Let's check it out!"

They hurried inside the falling apart laboratory. There in the center floated a round petite pink Pokémon; which fled a short distance the second it saw the girls.

"Oh, wait! Don't run away!" Bianca called after it.

After getting close enough to get a decent view of the Pokémon, Bianca took out her Pokedex,

_Munna, the Dream Eater Pokémon. Munna can eat the dreams of people and Pokémon alike, and then project those dreams by emitting Dream Mist from its body._

"It's so cute…" Bianca kindly said.

"Don't space out again now." Hilda teased.

Bianca giggled, "That's my specialty though."

Before the two could discuss any further, a pair of the strange uniformed people from earlier came from around the corner in front of them.

"We found you, Munna!" One of them shouts.

It was nerve-racking realization, Bianca blurted out, "Hilda! It's those guys! Umm… who did they say they were again?"

"It's those Team Plasma guys! What are they doing here?"

Team Plasma rapidly surrounded the Munna.

"Come on! Come on!" The other one demanded, "Make some Dream Mist!"

Munna looked back and forth between the hostile people.

"Hey wait a second!" Hilda shouted.

Bianca too yelled, "What do you think you're doing!?"

They angrily looked at the girls, "Huh? Us? This is what we, Team Plasma, do! We battle day and night to liberate Pokémon from foolish humans!"

"Liberate?" Hilda began,

"Pokémon?" Bianca finished.

_"It's like the speech they made in Accumula Town!"_ Hilda thought.

"You see the Pokémon Munna and its evolved form; Musharna emit a mysterious vapor called Dream Mist, it shows the dreams of people! We're going to use that to manipulate people's hearts and make them want to release their Pokémon!"

Hilda scoffed, "That has to be the stupidest thing I have ever heard!"

Neither bothered to respond, the male Plasma member took a step back and swung his bulky boot at the poor Munna. Kicking it like a soccer ball, the poor Pokémon crashed hard into a nearby wall, and fell to the ground.

"Come on! Spit out the Dream Mist!" he ordered, moving near Munna.

Both girls gasped at the viciousness.

"Leave that Munna alone!" Hilda screamed. She hurried for the Munna, kneeling and cradling it in her arms, shielding it from further harm.

Bianca ran to her friend's side, "You're kicking a Pokémon just to get Dream Mist? That's so mean! How could you guys do this when you have Pokémon yourselves!"

"We have Pokémon, but unlike you two, we're fighting for the freedom of Pokémon! In order to do that, we take people's Pokémon by force!"

It became clear to the girls that Team Plasma were serious about their declared goals.

"So, on that note, we're going to take your Pokémon from you! Starting with you! Go Patrat!" He pushed Bianca aside, sent out a Patrat, and cornered Hilda.

"Ek! Don't hurt Hilda!" Bianca cried. She reached out to intervene but the second Plasma blocked her way and shoved her back.

Hilda hugged the Munna close to her determined not to let these people steal from any of them, "Go Tepig!"

Tepig formed out light determined, "Tepig!"

"Tepig use Flame Wheel!"

Tepig's body ignited furiously, sprinting and giving Patrat a burning crash. Successfully distracting the Plasmas.

"Bianca! Tepig! Run!" Hilda shouted.

They took off but unfortunately they didn't get too far. The female Plasma lunged forward grabbing a strand of Hilda's ponytail, the thread of hair slipped through her fingers. Nonetheless the abrupt tug was enough to make Hilda lose her footing.

The fall sent Munna flying from Hilda's arms, "Bianca catch Munna!" she shrieked.

Bianca turned around and caught Munna just as it soared over her head. Team Plasma rushed past the collapsed Hilda toward Bianca, "We will get that Dream Mist!"

**"What are you two doing goofing off!?" **

The Team Plasma members froze in their tracks.

All noticed that Ghetsis had suddenly appeared behind them. He was directing his menacing stare at the two Plasma grunts.

Bianca held the Munna closer, "Hilda! It's that guy from Accumula Town! But where did he come from?"

Surprise to everyone a Ghetsis copy stepped out of the corner behind the original, "We, Team Plasma, shall separate Pokémon from foolish people!"

_"What is going on here_?" Hilda thought, _"Why is there two of them?"_

More Ghetsis's warped around the group, sending everyone's mind for a loop. Before a bunch of him surrounded everyone.

The sky and surrounding environment fell dark. All of the Ghetsis's merged together and grew larger, more fearsome, "If you cannot fulfill your duties…" his irate voice reverberated.

"T-this isn't…" the Team Plasma female stuttered, "Ghetsis when he is gathering followers… or Ghetsis when he is trying to control people by tricking them with speeches!"

"Yeah…" the other said, "This is Ghetsis when a plan has failed, and he's about to issue punishment!"

"This brings back memories! Not good ones either!"

"Well don't just stand there reminiscing let's get out of here!"

Team Plasma ran out as swiftly as they came. Hilda and Bianca eyed Ghetsis with disbelief. He shot the girls an intimidating glance before fading into thin air. Steadily, the atmosphere returned to normal.

"Wha…?" Bianca uttered, "What was that?"

Hilda had gotten to her feet and was brushing herself off; too stunned to answer Bianca.

Another Pokémon, similar in appearance to Munna came out of the tall grass. Munna jumped out of Bianca's arms and rushed to that Pokémon's side. But Hilda and Bianca were too bewildered to pay it any mind.

"What was that just now?" Hilda blurted out.

"I… I don't know. I just asked you that." Bianca stammered, "That Ghetsis person appeared all over the place, and… that wasn't real! Right!?"

"Was it all just a dream?" Hilda pondered, "And that Pokémon…"

Bianca pulled her Pokedex out again,

_"Musharna, the Drowsing Pokémon. Evolved from Munna, The mist emanating from their foreheads is packed with the dreams of people and Pokémon. The dream mist coming from its forehead changes into many different colors depending on the dream that was eaten."_

"Interesting…" Hilda observed, "So that's Musharna... Did that Pokémon make all those illusions?"

Musharna and Munna innocently floated away into the tall grass.

Bianca exhaled, "If it did... Musharna arrived just in time. But Team Plasma, I didn't think they were serious when we first heard them in Accumula Town..."

"From what we saw, I guess we gotta keep a look out for those guys. From all of that we can say they weren't just hearing themselves talk."

"I hope we don't ever have to see them again. Say Hilda, why don't you go challenge the gym? I'm going to stay here and look for the Pokémon we just saw."

"All right." Hilda adjusted her hat, "Bianca, are you sure? Will you be okay?"

"I'll be fine Hilda. If they come back Musharna might too." Bianca comforted.

Hilda was amused at Bianca's high self-assurance. Even after what all had happened, "Even so, be careful and stay alert."


	5. Chapter 5: Triple Trouble Triplets

Hilda rushed out of the Dreamyard, she was a bit worried that those Plasma losers hadn't left yet and were lying in wait somewhere to finish what they started. Fortunately that didn't happen and Hilda safely arrived back in Striation City, it was almost noon and the streets were a lot busier than they were when she and Bianca first came here, most likely because it's lunch time.

She decided to ask someone for directions, she tapped the shoulder of a girl appearing her age, "Excuse me?"

"What can I do for you?" The girl answered.

"I'm looking for the gym."

"You see that big building right there?" The girl directed, "That's the gym. Are you just starting out?"

Hilda nodded, "Yeah, I came from Nuvema Town. I'm not really sure what I want to do yet. So I'm going to challenge the gym to experiment."

"Oh I see, what Pokémon did you start with?"

"I started with a Tepig, but I also caught a Purrloin on the way here."

"Well in that case, would you like this Pokémon?" She handed Hilda a Poke ball.

Hilda looked at the Poke ball, "What is it?"

"It's a Pansage. Tepig wouldn't do so well against a water type, so a grass type would help you."

Hilda took the Poke ball, feeling a hint of happiness at the girl's generosity, "Oh! Thanks!"

"I'll give you this advice because you're new to this. As long as you have many types of Pokémon, something will work out no matter what you have to face."

"Thanks for the advice." Hilda replied, "I'll go try out this Pansage at the gym."

"Good luck on your journey!" The girl called out to Hilda as she disappeared into the traffic of people.

Hilda entered a classy building through elegant doors, her first thought was the girl had led her to the wrong place. She found herself inside of a restaurant not a Pokémon gym! Then again she couldn't have been mistaken; she saw a sign outside labeling this building as the Striation Gym.

"Hi! Welcome!"

"Welcome."

Two waiters, one red haired, the other bluenette, greeted her. Then came a third waiter, one with green hair, "Please make yourself at home!"

Hilda opened her mouth to say something but was instantly led to a table. The redhead approached her with a notepad, "So what would you like to order?"

"Would you like a minute with the menu?" The bluenette asked, handing her a neatly folded menu.

"Actually..." Hilda finally got a word in, "Is this the Striation gym?"

The green waiter answered her, "You're in the right place!"

"Well, where is the gym leader? I'm a challenger."

"That would be us!" The redhead stated.

The triplet waiters aligned themselves, "We three are the gym leaders." said the green haired, "May I ask you to come with us on stage?"

Hilda was directed up onto a stage giving full view of the restaurant and all the customers.

"First things first, Allow us to properly introduce ourselves, my name is Cilan, these are my brothers Chili and Cress."

"Nice to meet ya!" Chili boldly said.

"Hello." Cress greeted, "Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Pleasure's all mine." Hilda responded.

"Attention! Attention everyone!" Chili announced, catching everyone's eyes, "We have a challenger!"

His announcement prompted applause. The crowd instantly changed attitude from sophisticated to enthusiastic.

Cilan explained, "Now then! The three of us choose who you get to battle. It depends on the Pokémon you started with."

"But first! Tell the audience your name!" Chili requested.

Hilda stepped forward, facing the spectators with confidence, "My name is Hilda and I'm from Nuvema Town."

The crowd applauded again noticeably calmer than before; at this time Hilda had noticed that the audience consisted mostly of girls. Girls her age in fact.

Hilda inquired, "So…I started with Tepig does that mean…?"

"Well then it looks like you're battling Cress!" Cilan affirmed.

That was fine with her. After all, she was not wanting an easy way to get that trio badge, no, she wanted a challenge. Sure this might be a little over the top, but hey! The tougher the challenge the more fun!

Cress stepped forward, giving the impression that this would be a battle to remember.

"Time to meet my Pokémon!" Cress asserted, Tossing a Poke ball out in the open, a jolly faced blue monkey Pokémon formed from the light.

Hilda flipped open her Pokedex,

_"Panpour, the Spray Pokémon. Panpour lived in forests long ago, but developed a body that makes it easy to live near water. It can store water in the tufts on its head."_

"Awesome! Sounds like a great opponent!"

"How lucky of you." Cress boasted, "To be able to battle the best of the three of us."

"Hey!" Chili yelled from the side, "I beg to differ!"

"What did I say? I clearly don't mind speaking the truth." Cress taunted his angry brother.

"Okay that is it!" Chili fumed, "We can take this outside!"

"Not now you fool. We have a challenger here."

"Grr…"

"We can settle this after she leaves."

"All right fine! I'm holding you to that!"

Hilda tried her best to keep a straight face, but the scorching tension between the two was quite hilarious! The way they argued was similar to Cheren and Bianca, except these two are much louder.

"I apologize for my brother."

Hilda understood, "It's all right I'm used to hearing disagreements now and then."

"Let's get this battle under way shall we?"

"All right let's get to the fun! Purrlion let's go!"

Hilda flung her Poke ball into the air, out of the ball from the stream of light; Purrlion emerged.

Her first gym battle is now in progress! Now one question hangs in her mind, what will the outcome be?


	6. Chapter 6: Battle!

Purrlion use scratch!" Hilda commanded.

"Panpour use water gun!" Cress instructed.

Panpour sprayed water from its mouth, heading straight for a charging Purrlion. She leaped from side to side avoiding the water shots eventually getting close enough to leap and swipe her sharp claws across the monkey's face.

Panpour winced back. Without hesitation Cress gave another command, "Now use lick Panpour!"

Panpour pounced forward and swiped his tongue across Purrlion's face, yuck!

Purrlion used her paw to wipe her eyes, in enough time to dodge another lick from Panpour.

"Purrlion use Pursuit!" Hilda ordered.

Cress then commanded, "Panpour use dig!"

Panpour burrowed its way underground, Purrlion stopped in her tracks and scanned around vigorously.

Suddenly from beneath her feet, the blue monkey Pokémon popped out from underground nailing Purrlion with its dig attack. Purrlion went sailing through the air.

"Looks like you've got some tough competition here!" Cress bragged, "Panpour use water gun!"

Panpour blast a stream on water straight for the dazed kitty.

_"Oh no Purrlion!"_

The force flowing water harshly blasted Purrlion, knocking out the last of her energy. She fell to the ground unconscious.

Cilian refereed, "Purrlion is unable to batte!"

Panpour happily cheered, with Cress applauding his Pokémon, "Great job Panpour. This is the appropriate result when I'm your opponent."

"Oh I'm just getting started." Hilda smirked, ready to send out her Pansage.

"Excellent, in that case! Let's get started!"

Though Hilda portrays confidence, she had a lingering doubt. She had just gotten this Pansage... Would she really be able to win with him?

"Here we go Pansage!"

Out came a grass monkey Pokémon, similar in appearance to Panpour.

I see... That might be a good choice." Cress noted, "Panpour! Use scratch!"

Panpour targeted Pansage with its claws sharp.

"Pansage! Vine whip!" Hilda commanded.

Pansage reached for a vine and cracked it right in front of Panpour, startling it into stopping its attack.

"Panpour! Use lick!"

"Keep the vine whip coming Pansage!"

Pansage repeatedly cracked that whip, with the water monkey dodging left and right. Eventually Pansage swung that vine in a way that got Panpour all wrapped up, effectively immobilizing it.

"Fury swipes attack!" Hilda commanded.

Pansage readied his claws and unleashed a slashing fury into Panpour. The scene looked promising for Hilda and her team, however as Pansage swiped furiously, the vine Panpour was wrapped up in became loose.

As soon as the vines broke, Panpour delivered a harsh scratch right across the grass monkey's face. Rendering both of them back in a battle stance.

"I'll put all my hopes on our last stretch!" Cress stated.

"Good to hear!" Hilda answered, Pansage use bite!"

"Panpour dig!"

Panpour burrowed underground, to everyone's surprise, Pansage followed. Nobody could see what was happening for several seconds. Until Pansage shot from the ground with Panpour's tail caught in the bite.

Cress got surprised, "What the-!?"

"All right Pansage! Finish it off with a vine whip!"

With a full speed twist, Pansage threw Panpour into the air, and struck it with a vine like a homerun hit.

the water monkey then soared above its trainers head plowing right into the wall, and slowly sliding to the ground. Panpour had no energy left.

"Panpour has no energy left to battle." Cilan announced, "The winner is the challenger, Hilda!"

"All right!" Hilda cheered, "Great job Pansage!"

Pansage hesitated, before he began to celebrate himself.

"We won our first gym battle this is awesome!"

* * *

_Outside the gym…_

"Congratulations Hilda." Cress said sincerely, extending his hand.

Hilda shook his hand firmly, "Thanks Cress. That was an incredible battle!"

"You are quite remarkable yourself. Please accept this gym badge; it is the Pokémon League's rules." He answered, handing her the trio badge. The badge was gold with three jewels engraved in it, one red, one blue, and one green respectively. Hilda proudly stared at the badge resting in her hand.

"You know…" Cress added, "If there were seventeen siblings in the Striaton City Gym... There could be a specialist for each type of Pokémon."

"All right now!" Chili burst into the conversation, "A promise is a promise now come on Cress let's go!"

"She hasn't left yet Chili, I said after she leaves." Cress taunted.

"Okay you know what you're just asking for a thrashing now!" Chili threatened.

Hilda turned around and ran a short distance; she didn't want to be around when this fight erupted. Looking over her shoulder, Cilan was waving her goodbye. She waved back then continued to speed away.

After recovering her Pokémon, Hilda started on her way to Route three. Right there near the town gate, the western part of the city housed a beautifully designed garden surrounded by water. In the center was a tall water fountain. The gate leaving down the road seemed more pleasing than ever.

Off to Route three she went.


	7. Chapter 7: Theives on the Loose

We join up with Hilda strolling along the dirt trail. Route three started off as a short simple path before coming to a split, one path going straight forward, the other path went left. Hilda looked at her map, the path she needs to take to go to Nacrene City is the left one.

"Hilda wait up!"

She could recognize that voice anywhere, "Cheren! I thought you had gone ahead already!"

"I was resting for a bit." He explained, pushing his glasses up, "I heard you now have the trio badge."

"That's right! I sure do!" She happily presented it.

"Well now that we both have the trio badge! Let's see which one of us is stronger!"

"Bring it on!"

"Here we go! Oshawott go!" He sent the sea otter Pokémon into battle, who looked raring to go.

It was natural for Hilda to choose a type advantage, "Pansage let's go!" Pansage was even more confident. Especially after having just won Hilda the Trio badge.

"Hmm, impressive choosing a type advantage Hilda." Cheren acknowledged, "I'll let you make the first move."

"Pansage use vine whip!" Hilda instructed.

Pansage took a vine and snapped it across Oshawott in the blink of an eye, the water Pokémon cried out in response.

"Ugh! You chose a good move. Now Oshawott use tackle!"

Oshawott sprinted for Pansage, and Hilda was ready to counter.

"Pansage use scratch!"

The grass monkey hopped over Oshawott; scratching it as it went under him.

"Oshawott use water gun!" Cheren quickly commanded.

Oshawott got to its feet and shot water at Pansage.

"Pansage use vine whip one more time!" Hilda commanded in return.

Pansage summoned the vine once more and cracked it across the stream of water, dissipating the attack. Pansage then snapped the vine across Oshawott once again, defeating it.

Hilda clapped her hands, "Great job Pansage!"

Pansage gave a little dance of joy. Such agility that he carried! No doubt that Pansage would make an excellent addition to her team!

"Oshawott return! Impressive so far, but this battle isn't over yet! Lillipup go!"

The furry dog appeared out of the bright Poke ball light, ready to battle!

"Pansage return!" Hilda said, returning Pansage to its Poke ball, "Take a break you earned it." She whispered to the Poke ball.

"Now Purrloin it's your turn!" Hilda cheered, sending her out.

Purrloin took her fighting stance ready for commands! It was cat vs. dog!

"Purrloin use assist!"

"Lillipup use tackle!"

Lillipup took a run at Purrloin; suddenly Purrloin suddenly sent small flames out of its mouth! Lillipup was caught completely off guard and bombarded with the fires.

"Ugh! You chose a good move as usual."

Hilda let out a small chuckle, "Mind you I'm just getting started!"

Cheren smiled right back at her, "Good, that's what I want to hear! Now! Lillipup use bite!"

"All right Purrloin! Use pursuit!"

Purrloin sprang to the attacking Lillipup and attacked it with its paw, unfortunately she got caught in the dog's powerful jaw.

"Purrlion use assist again!" Sure this was pretty chance taking, but she was very sure of herself.

Purrlion summoned a vine out of nowhere and whipped it around Lillipup's body, she got the dog off herself and threw him away! Literally, he landed in a nearby trash can.

Lillipup hopped out of the garbage and shook the junk off, in time for Cheren to give another command, "Lillipup use tackle!" The dog charged again for Purrlion.

"Purrlion! Scratch!"

Purrlion gracefully ran for her opponent, at the last possible second before impact she hopped over him and gave him a harsh scratch. Lillipup had no energy left after that.

"Good work Purrlion!" Purrloin ran up to Hilda's shoulder, happy that she had won a battle.

Cheren returned his tired Pokémon, "Hm… I see, losing to you means I still have a lot to learn."

Hilda smiled again, "So, that's me and my Pokémon... At least for now!"

"I see, so that's how you battle."

Purrloin hopped off Hilda's shoulder and ran up Cheren, to his surprise she snatched his glasses off his face.

"Hey what is she-?"

Purrloin fit Cheren's glasses on her own face, "Purrloin, Purrloin."

A confused Cheren asked, "What in the world?"

Hilda giggled, "She likes to imitate people."

Purrloin tapped her foot like Cheren habitually does, "Purrloin! Purrloin?"

"Ha, she's doing a good impersonation of you Cheren!"

Cheren didn't know what to make of this… A Purrloin that likes to mimic people? How strange… At the same time fascinating.

Until Purrloin decided to crawl up Hilda and plant a light kiss on her cheek.

Cheren's cheeks grew red, "Grr! All right that's enough, give me back my glasses!"

Hilda was also surprised, why did Purrloin do that? No matter what she did what Cheren asked, "Um… Purrloin may I have these back please?"

Purrloin grudgingly gave the glasses to Hilda, who in return gave them back to Cheren, he cleaned them on his jacket and put them back on his face, "Honestly…"

"Sorry Cheren, I don't know what got into her."

Purrlion looked at Hilda in a way that said, _Really? _Then again it's not like her trainer would get it... yet.

"Out of the way!" a shout came from down the road leading from Striation.

Cheren turned around, "What in the world…?"

Before they could see anything, both Hilda and Cheren were rashly pushed aside by two taller figures.

Hilda sprawled to the ground landing on her side, "Ow what gives!?"

Cheren's glasses had fallen off his face from the harsh shove, he found them after momentarily feeling around, "Are you all right Hilda?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine." She insisted, "But what was that all about?"

Another voice came from the same direction, "Guuuuuuuys!"

It was Bianca, accompanied by a little girl.

Hilda sprung to her feet, "Bianca what's going on?"

"Hey! Where were those people headed?" Bianca demanded.

Cheren got to his feet and brushed himself off, "They just went that way. Bianca what happened?"

"Miss… what about my Pokémon…?" The little girl whimpered.

"It'll be okay, don't cry." Bianca consoled her.

"Bianca what is going on?" Hilda asked again, with much more insistence than before.

"You have to hear this! Those people stole this little girl's Pokémon!"

Hilda's face firmed with anger, "What!? Are you serious?"

"We're going to get that Pokémon back!" Cheren sternly said, "Bianca, stay by the little girl's side! Hilda, come with me!"

Cheren went tearing down the road where those people ran to. Hilda hesitated for a moment, looking back at Bianca first, who nodded. After adjusting her hat; Hilda ran after Cheren, down the path and around a bend, she caught up with him at a cave entrance. Right beside was a sign reading, _Wellspring Cave._

"Cheren which way did they go?"

"They went in here, come on."

Inside the cave, the howl of the wind could be heard and every drip sound from falling water drops resounded.

"Heh, that was almost too easy." A Team Plasma man bragged tossing the stolen poke ball to himself.

The accompanying female laughed, "It was a just a kid. Did you really think it was going to be even remotely a challenge?"

"You never know…You know how tough some of these kids can be? I mean Tangrowth and I faced some pretty tough kids before!"

"Oh come on now! There is no way that-"

"Hold it right there Team Plasma!" Hilda's voice echoed.

"What the-?"

There stood Hilda and Cheren filled with determination, their figures being highlighted by the glow of the caves entrance.

"What are these kids doing here?" The female furiously wondered, "Did you two follow us here?"

"Who do you guys think you are coming around and causing trouble!?" Hilda scolded, "Stealing from a little girl? That is so low!"

"Obnoxious girl!" The male snapped back, "That child cannot use a Pokémon to its full potential! Wouldn't that make the Pokémon sad? It's the same thing for all of your Pokémon! So hand them over to us now!"

"No way!" Hilda vehemently opposed, "As if I'd ever do that! You guys have no idea what you're talking about!"

He shot her an alarming glance, perhaps a mixture of surprise and hostility.

"All right then. I guess I'll have to take them from you!" He looked at his own Pokémon, "Tangrowth! Restrain her!"

Tangrowth deliver powerful vines after Hilda, despite her attempts to dodge them there were too many and she was restrained, "Hey come on!" She protested.

"Let her go!" Cheren ordered.

"Quiet boy! We're going to take your Pokémon too!"

Cheren looked behind him upon noticing other shadows on the ground, two other Team Plasma members had suddenly appeared behind him and they were now blocking the entrance to the cave.

"So there were more of you…" Cheren mumbled.

One of them tauntingly shrugged, "How troublesome, not only do you fail to understand, you actually got in our way, to boot."

"Don't make this difficult boy. Just surrender your Pokémon and this won't get so bad."

Cheren pushed up his glasses, "What a bothersome bunch…"

Hilda built up as much moisture as she could in her mouth, when her mouth was full she spat directly into the eyes of her captor, rendering the vine Pokémon blind.

While everyone was caught off guard, Hilda broke away from the Pokémon's grip and managed to shove a Team Plasma into a small pool of water. He in turn dropped the stolen Pokémon.

"I got the Pokémon Cheren let's go!"

Team Plasma was more than a little infuriated, "Stop right there! Get them!"

Waiting at the trail intersection was Bianca and the little girl, and to their surprise were the triplet gym leaders waiting with them!

"Hilda and Cheren! Did you two get her Pokémon back?"

"We heard all the commotion going on and came to check it out." Cilan explained.

"Well…" Cheren began, trying to catch his breath, "We got her Pokémon back… but…"

"There they are!" a hollered voice was heard.

The group of Team Plasma stopped in their tracks upon noticing that their targets were no longer alone.

"Oh great it's the gym leaders from Striation!"

"Hey give up already!" Chili demanded, "We heard about what happened! If you want more me and my brothers will be more than happy to take you guys on!"

"Great…If it was just these kids we could take them all down easy but with these gym leaders here now; doesn't look too easy anymore!"

"Seriously why do you guys persist on thieving people's Pokémon so much?" Cress questioned.

"In order to liberate Pokémon from foolish people we must take them from their trainers!"

"Whatever." Cheren jeered, "Come on now, what reason could possibly justify stealing a Pokémon from someone?"

"Isn't it obvious? Trainers like you are making Pokémon suffer!"

"What do you mean trainers are making Pokémon suffer? I don't get that at all!"

The Plasma man was in no mood for any further arguing, "Fine… you can take that Pokémon back. But be aware on how that Pokémon suffers by being used by people."

Hilda and Cheren exchanged a quick annoyed glance.

"Someday you'll open your eyes to your own complicity…"

Team Plasma vanished quickly and quietly leaving them with that remark. Cheren shook his head slowly and sighed, "Trainers bring out their Pokémon's strength. Pokémon believe in their trainers and respond to that. I don't understand how that makes Pokémon suffer!"

"I don't know either Cheren…" Hilda shrugged, "But at least we got the Pokémon back. If you ask me THEY'RE the ones that need to open their eyes, not us."

Bianca cheered, "Hilda and Cheren! Thank you so much! The two of you got her Pokémon back!"

Hilda smiled in return, "Was there ever any doubt?"

"I'm so lucky to have friends like you two!" Bianca enthused.

"Thanks to you too guys!" Hilda thanked the three brothers.

"It was no problem at all." Cilan assured, "Now that Team Plasma is gone, we better get back to the gym, good luck on the journey ahead!"

Cilan, Cress, and Chili took their leave with everyone waving goodbye.

"Thank you, you guys are so cool!" The little girl thanked.

"I'm so glad you guys are my friends!" Bianca agreed, "I'm going to walk her home now okay? You guys can go on ahead."

"See ya later!" Hilda called out.

Once the two were out of sight Hilda glanced up at the sky and noticed it was no longer clear blue but a vivid orange. "What an exciting day this has been!"

"It certainly has been. We should get to Nacrene City before the sun sets."

"You're right we should. Still… we really showed Team Plasma today didn't we Cheren?"

"Hilda, we've been friends our whole lives. We've always got each other's back when it counts. That's how it will always be."

"Of course! You, me, and Bianca will always be my best friends forever!"

Cheren chuckled, "Certainly, come on, let's get to Nacrene."

Hilda walked beside Cheren, listening to the sound of the trees brushing against each other. The light of the sunset felt warm and pleasant on her skin. Her legs were so sore from all the strenuous activity. She absent-mindedly fell to her knees, prompting Cheren to come by her side.

"Are you okay Hilda?"

"Hm?... Oh, yes I'll be fine." Hilda stretched her arms over her head, "I had a fun day today I just need some rest."

"Take it easy okay? Don't push yourself so hard."

Hilda nodded, as fun as serious adventures are they sure are tiring. She couldn't wait to get some sleep and hopefully find new and exciting adventure the following day.

They arrived at Nacrene City within a few minutes.

* * *

**Author's note: Yes I know, complete randomness. Keep enjoying! Stay flying!**


	8. Chapter 8: A Troubling Dispute

The streets of Nacrene city were quieting down as the day came to a close. With the golden-orange sun illuminating her tired face; Hilda was ready to turn in for the day. Luckily the Pokémon center was in sight and not too far away.

After waving goodbye to Cheren, Hilda entered the automatic doors of the Pokémon Center; the refreshing cool air hit her immediately. She approached the front desk where a nurse greeted her cheerfully, "Hello, welcome to the Pokémon Center!"

"Hiya, Could you heal my Pokémon?" she asked.

"Of course we can! I'll take them for a bit."

Hilda handed her Pokémon over before going to sit at a nearby table. The seats were leather and soft. She felt a flow of relief in her legs as soon as she lifted her own weight off of them. She felt lightheaded… she could just fall asleep right then and there.

"You tired too Hilda?" A high voice startled her.

"Oh hey there Bianca didn't see you there."

"I just got here. So you're stopping for the day?"

"Yeah, this was a real exciting first day. So I'm going to see if they have any rooms left. You could stay with me if you want." Hilda offered.

"Sure thing! It'll be like the sleepovers we had when we were kids."

"Those were some fun times, we'd better go check now if they have one then."

The girls approached the front desk to the polite nurse that healed Hilda's Pokémon, "Hi, we'd like a room please." Hilda requested.

"Okay, how many for the room?"

"Two."

"How many nights are you staying?"

"Just for tonight."

After typing on her computer, she reached into an organized desk and pulled out a set of keys, "All right then here's the room key; your room number is 211. Enjoy your stay."

_Later that night…_

Hilda and Bianca relaxed in their room; both were in night clothes. The sun had fallen and the day was officially over, outside their window the sky was a kingdom of stars, where the moon reigned.

In front of the bathroom vanity; Hilda sat in a stool while Bianca brushed and blow-dried her waist length brown hair.

"You have such pretty long hair Hilda."

"Yeah, it always gets in the way so I tie it up."

Bianca patted the towel wrapped around her hair, "That's why I always kept my hair short."

"I see, say Bianca…"

"Hm? What's up Hilda?"

Hilda took a deep breath, then continued, "I'm sorry if I'm mistaken but… Is everything okay?"

Bianca was confused, "What do you mean? Of course it is!"

As much as Hilda didn't want to ruin her smile, she just had to know, "Well… I remember this morning you were storming out of your house when we all went to see Professor Juniper at her lab. Did something happen?"

"uhhhmmmmmm…" she hummed while thinking. Then her face drifted into a worried expression, "Oh… that…"

"What is it?"

"Well… It was after we talked to your mom, I went home to tell my parents that I had a Pokémon and was going to go on an adventure…"

* * *

_Flashback…_

"No! No! NO! A thousand times no!" a loud gruff voice protested.

Bianca stood there wanting to sob, but she couldn't show any weakness now! "But daddy! I'm going on a Pokémon adventure with Hilda and Cheren!"

Her father threw his arms up in frustration, "What kind of nonsense is this!?"

Bianca didn't want to hear anymore, she whirled around and dashed outside; slamming the door behind her.

A soft and gentle voice countered the opposition, "Dear please…"

"Sheila, how could our daughter; who knows nothing of the world be going on an adventure!? This is outrageous!"

"Dear, Pokémon adventures are a normal part of growing up. It's just part of life. Hilda and Cheren are going with her."

His wife's calm opinions were enough to cool him down for the moment, he thought deeply for a moment before uttering, "Fine…"

She smiled and embraced her husband, even though he vocally agreed to let Bianca leave, his mind was still clouded in doubt.

_Return to present time…_

* * *

"So your father seemed really deadest against you leaving huh."

Bianca sighed, "Yes, but my mom called me and told me that she had convinced him that it was okay. So it's all right now!" she affirmed, returning to her happy carefree self.

"That's great! Let's fix your hair now!"

"Coming right up!" Bianca unraveled the damp towel and plopped it on the floor. With Hilda armed with a brush and blow-dryer, they repeated the process vice versa, she ran the brush through Bianca's blonde hair.

"I'm really happy your father understands Bianca."

"Me too Hilda, I am really excited about this adventure after all."


	9. Chapter 9: Different Views

"Ugh… I overslept…" Hilda stretched awake.

Bianca was still sleeping. It crosses her mind to wake her up, but she ruled it out. It was obvious that yesterday was too exciting and decided to let her sleep.

However Hilda herself was wide awake and she was far too anxious to wait, quickly and quietly she changed into her freshly washed clothes and packed her stuff. After placing the room keys on the nightstand next to a sleeping Bianca, Hilda stealthily slipped out of the room.

Outside of the Pokémon Center, First thing she did was start looking for the Pokémon gym, the last win gave her new confidence that she could win another.

She casually strolled to the street north of the Pokémon Center, there she saw a building that stood out quite well within the city. Approaching the building there was a statue with a plaque at the entrance reading, _"Nacrene City Gym."_

"Well that was easy." Hilda spoke aloud to herself.

Hilda strolled into the gym with quick pace… and was abruptly stopped. She had bumped into someone.

"I'm sorry."

She then realized that she had met this person before. It was him, the young man from Accumula Town. The mysterious N, the one who claims to hear Pokémon talking.

She took a step back, "... It's you."

He steadily approached her, "I... want to see things no one can see. The truths of Pokémon inside Poke Balls. The ideals of how Trainers should be. And a future where Pokémon have become perfect... Do you feel the same?"

Hilda gave him a strange look, "I really don't know what you're trying to say."

N looked at her intriguingly, "Huh. I expected more from you."

Hilda shrugged, she didn't know how to respond to such a question.

"Now pay attention. My friends and I will test you to see if you can see this future, too"

* * *

Two girls, one with blonde hair and another with pink hair, strikingly beautiful, projecting sweetness, watch from a table at the café next door…

"Anthea, who's that girl N's talking to?"

"Could it be that girl he told us about the other day Concordia? About the unusual Pokémon?"

Anthea sipped her coffee, "That could be so, but it's not surprising something like that would be of shock to him."

"Indeed, it appears to be true." Concordia flipped her hair, "Look at how she treats her Pokémon with the upmost love and care. N had never known that."

"Maybe this girl could help him understand…"

"With any luck… we can only hope for the best…"

Anthea studied Hilda carefully, who had just sent out her Tepig, "Do you suppose she could be the one?"

"The one?" Concordia thought for a moment, "Do you mean...?

"Yes. It is possible isn't it?"

It was Concordia's turn to observe Hilda, "She does seem to have potential, perhaps she could..."

* * *

"Tepig use flame charge! Go!"

Tepig charged its fire and rushed for N's Timburr.

"Timburr use bide!"

Timburr struck a defensive position and began glowing, however Tepig's flame charge was too strong against the less experienced Pokémon and knocked it out with a burning blow.

"All right Tepig!"

The tiny pig Pokémon hugged his trainer's legs, Hilda crouched and gave him a pat on the head.

N stood there, slowly absorbing his second loss to this girl, "Return Timburr... I cannot see the future yet... The world is still to be determined..."

Hilda stood up with Tepig in her arms, "But why worry about the future when you can enjoy the here and now? I mean, I know planning a future is important but you aren't making any sense. Besides it's not worth being anxious all the time."

N paused a moment before answering, "Right now, my friends aren't strong enough to save all Pokémon. Maybe I can't solve the equation that will change the world. So, I need power... Power enough to make anyone agree with me."

Hilda shook her head, "I gotta say N, I don't think you have to resort to that to make people agree with you. The fact of the matter is everyone has their own opinion, and I think you should just let it be that way."

The mysterious N took one more glance at Hilda before walking away, once he was out of her earshot he spoke his idea,

"Now I know what power I need. Reshiram! The legendary Pokémon that, along with the hero, created the Unova region. It's my turn to become that hero-and you and I will be friends!"

With a concerned expression on her face Hilda watched N leave, "Cheren was right, that guy sure is weird… Oh well, whatever." Before going into the gym.

Once again, Hilda could've sworn she found herself in the wrong place. The place was a museum with various historical treasures with a few individuals admiring the various works of natural art. Despite the fact that it was not the gym, Hilda was taken aback by the displayed skeleton in the center of the room.

"Whoa… I wonder what kind of Pokémon that is."

She gradually drew near the artifact. It seemed to resemble some kind of dragon-type Pokémon.

Someone spoke beside her, "Wow! Whenever I look at this skeleton, I'm… fascinated."A scientist stood near her, captivated by the bones.

He took notice of her, "Welcome! I'm Hawes, the assistant director. You are a trainer yes?"

Hilda replied, "That's what I am."

"You must be here for the gym then, but before we get into that, allow me to show you around the museum."

Hilda saw this as a bit needless; the museum was rather small, seemed easy to navigate. Nonetheless she followed this man to an exhibit.

He stopped at a Pokémon fossil, "This here is a fossil of a Pokémon that lived centuries ago. I doubt you can find a Pokémon like this around here. There's a theory that it had an accident while it was flying around the world, and so it became a fossil."

Hilda nodded, mystified by the fossil's history.

They went to another showing, this time it was a rock, "This is a meteorite, cool huh? Some say that a Pokémon came from space along with this meteorite."

"What kind of Pokémon?" Hilda questioned.

"I can't say I know." He answered, "This meteorite does contain some kind of energy though."

"Hmm… interesting." Hilda observed, "What about that stone over there?" She pointed to a sparkly stone in another display.

"Hm? Oh that. It's an ancient stone that was found buried in the desert. Other than the fact it's extremely old it really has no value… We only display it because it's pretty to look at."

"Oh."

"Now… up these stairs here…" he guided her up a flight of stairs. At the top was a small opening, "This door leads to the gym, a very strong and kind gym leader waits there. I suppose you are here to challenge her."

"You bet! So she's here?"

"That's correct, it's in the basement of the library so I ask you to be quiet and courteous to others studying there. By the way…The gym leader Lenora, she's my wife!"

"Well, I'm going to challenge her to a match! I hope this'll be a good battle!"

"Good luck! Trust me! She'll give you a battle you'll never forget!"

Hilda quietly made her way through the library premises, "_Smart of them to have a library right where a museum is."_

* * *

In Route 13, a purple haired girl strolled back and forth waiting for her best friend to wake up, she was so excited about today she had been waiting since dawn. She knew her best friend wasn't exactly the morning type. But she was about to barge in his tent and jump on him!

Then she heard him stretch himself awake.

"Hey Hilbert come on out lazy boy!" She called to him.

"I'll be out in a minute!" he responded.

Once he finished getting dressed he went outside his tent to where Iris was waiting for him, "Hilbert! Come on!"

"Iris don't get so crazy now it's not like I forgot." He assured her.

"Sorry, I'm just excited! You promised to take me to Undella Town today!"

"Don't worry Iris, we're going right now. You got everything you need?"

Iris shot her friend a dumbfounded look, "Excuse me? I should be the one asking that question."

Hilbert chuckled, "Don't worry, I promise I didn't forget anything this time."

"You sure? Can you at least check to make sure you have the sunscreen? You remember what happened last time when you forgot…"

"All right, fine." Hilbert swung his backpack in front of him, after some digging he found the sunscreen.

He showed her, "See Iris? I didn't forget."

Iris sighed, "Okay I believe you, but just in case you fall asleep again I'm bringing a parasol."

"Come on Iris it's a beach you're supposed to be in the sun." He smiled at her.

"I know that Hilbert, but the last time you fell asleep was the time you forgot the sunscreen. Everyone thought you were a giant lobster!"

Hilbert laughed, "It'll okay Iris, trust me."

"Okay then." Iris accepted, "Let's go!"

The two ran off for Undella Town.


	10. Chapter 10: Ordinary to Extraordinary

"Welcome! The director of the Nacrene Museum and the Nacrene Gym's Leader is me! Lenora!"

One look at her was nothing Hilda had expected, when she first heard that this Hawes man was her husband, she almost expected Lenora to be some nerdy scientist looking woman who would view her as an object waiting to be studied. Lenora was nothing like this.

She greeted Hilda sunnily and energetic, "Welcome! The director of the Nacrene Museum and the Nacrene Gym's Leader is me! Lenora!"

"Hi, I'm Hilda, I met your husband Lenora, I would like to challenge you to a battle!"

Lenora chuckled, "Let me guess, did he show you around our little museum?"

"He sure did!" Hilda answered, "I think I could've found my way around on my own though."

"Well then, Hilda, I'm going to research how you battle with the Pokémon you've so lovingly raised! We'll each use two Pokémon. Good for you?"

"That's fine with me ma'am."

"All right then! Let's get this started!"

Before they could begin the battle, Hawes flung the door open and came rushing, "Deeear! Dear! Come quickly! Team Plasma is threatening to steal some bones!"

Both she and Lenora were astounded, "What!?" the two blurted out simultaneously.

"Oh no they are NOT!" Lenora galloped out of the room faster than a stampeding Rapidash. Hilda followed quickly behind. As she rushed through the library a question came to Hilda's mind, what in the world would Team Plasma be stealing bones for?

Low and behold, the main room was completely taken over by these look-alike thieves. Everywhere they looked there was a Team Plasma grunt.

"Look who's here everyone!" The grunt standing directly under the skeleton announces, "It's the gym leader!" All of the Plasma grunts gave Lenora their mocking attention, clearly pleased that they had an outnumbered power over the gym leader.

"What do you think you're doing!?" Lenora fiercely questioned.

"We, Team Plasma, claim this museum's dragon skull in the name of Pokémon liberation!"

Hilda rolled her eyes, "Here we go again with the Pokémon liberation garbage."

"Silence! To show you we're serious, we'll steal it right before your eyes!" He held up a spherical object, "Behold our smoke screen!"

"Plasmaaa!" The various grunts repeated around the room, "Plasmaaa!"

Hilda began to argue, "First of all what would stealing bones have anything to do with-?"

The lead grunt plowed the round item into the ground, with others around him doing the same, suffocating smoke bellowed the room rapidly.

Hilda coughed, "What the hell!?" she managed to choke out. The smoke was so thick; she could barely see her own hand in front of her face. The smolder was irritating her eyes so bad they watered.

Several seconds passed, just in time before Hilda felt she was about to pass out, the smoke began to slowly clear. Museum employees managed to get doors and windows open, allowing the smoke to vent.

The head of the dragon was gone leaving behind a thin layer of smoke in the museum, and Lenora was furious.

"They're not getting away with this!" She stampeded out of the building prepared to beat these robbers senseless.

"This is not good…" Hawes dreaded, "We've got to go after them!"

Hilda ran out the museum hoping to catch up with Lenora. She didn't go very far. She was standing outside looking in all different directions.

"Lenora! Which way did they go?"

"I wish I could tell you! But they vanished! What is going on?"

To make things more hectic a crowd had appeared, most likely due to curiosity as to why smoke was emitting out of the museum all of a sudden.

A tall, skinny man with a headful of wavy hair pushed his way through the crowd, "Lenora! Is everything okay?"

She replied cheeringly, "Hello there Burgh! I didn't expect to see you here. Is it artist's block again?"

"Not exactly, but that's not important right now. What happened here? What's with all the smoke?"

"I'll tell you exactly what's going on! A group of no-good robbers just helped themselves to an exhibit!"

The artist was astounded, "What!? You're kidding!"

"I kid you not! This young lady's a witness! But we don't know which way they went!

Hilda was still baffled herself, "It's crazy, it's like they disappeared!"

"Hilda!" She faced the crowd hearing a familiar voice call her name, spotting Bianca nudging her way through the crowd, "There you are I've been looking for you! What's everyone doing here? What happened in there?"

"Bianca! You have to hear this!"

"Hold on a sec! Come on Cheren!"

Cheren stepped out of the mass of people, "Hello Hilda, nice to see you." He put his attention on the smoke billowing gym, "Is there some kind of problem?"

Lenora approached the teenagers, "Who are they?"

"Lenora, these are my friends. Bianca and Cheren, they're trainers too."

"Oh really? Well in that case their timing couldn't have been better. We could use some extra hands! Let's split up and search! Cheren and Bianca, I want you two to stay here at the museum. Burgh and Hilda, you two search Pinwheel Forest! Burgh you can show Hilda the way! I'm counting on you everyone!" With that she sprinted off into the city.

Hilda looked back at Burgh, who was nodding, "Okay then, your name is Hilda right?"

She nodded.

"Are you ready to go round up some robbers?"

"Let me tell my friends what's going on first." Hilda mentioned.

"All right then, I'll be waiting at Pinwheel Forest's entrance. Be quick now!" He left.

Cheren asked, "What happened Hilda?"

"Team Plasma is causing trouble again!" She broke the news.

"Oh no, not them again!" Bianca remarked.

"I'm afraid so Bianca." Hilda confirmed, "They stole a museum exhibit, and we lost them. We need you two to be on the lookout in case they decide to come back."

Bianca was raring to go, "Okay! We'll do it!"

"Thanks guys! We're counting on you now!" Hilda took off to catch up with Burgh.

"Be careful Hilda!" Cheren called out.

Looking off into the distance from the top of a small hill, Hilda gazed upon a sea of fresh green trees. She recklessly dashed down the hill running for the forest hoping to catch up with Burgh. She figured the thieves would most likely head into the forest, because it's easy to hide in a forest.

_"I hope we can catch them before they go too far…"_ She prayed.

She arrived where Burgh was waiting for her at the entrance, "They were here, they left some tracks behind." He directed at the dirt.

This is exactly what Hilda was afraid of, "Great, how are we going to catch these guys in a forest?"

"Hopefully, they didn't get too far. We could have some trouble if they scuttle into the forest."

Even though it was the broad daylight the forest was dimmed with rays of sun peering between the leaves. What Hilda first noticed is that there were two paths, a gravel road that leads straight out, and a path that proceeds into the woods.

"So what's the plan?" She asked.

"I will take the straight road after them. If they're not there at least I'll be blocking the exit. Hilda, I would like you to check into the wooded path, they must be hiding in there somewhere."

"All right then, Sounds exciting." Hilda nodded. She did have a reputation at home for always being ready for adventure. Now it's being brought into the limelight.

"It's a single path Hilda, I'm sure you won't get lost. We have to do this for Lenora!" He hurried off to watch the exit.

Without knowing what was waiting for her she ran into the brush. Even with an exploratory bone in her body, the forest was not a desirable place to be searching for snatchers. Who knows how far they could've gotten?

A voice boomed from the thicket, "Well, well, well… look who's here!"

A Team Plasma man appeared from the trees and bushes, "What is with a brat like you always showing up at the worst time!"

Hilda realized that this was the same Plasma that stole that little girl's Pokémon before, "Oh great it's you… Where's the skull?"

"I don't have anything! You're going to have to find my subordinates!" He smiled a snarky smile, "But good luck finding them in this forest."

Hilda was done with wasting her time with this moron. She ran down the path.

"Give it up already!" He shouted after her, "You're nothing but a kid on an ego trip!"

She pretended she didn't hear him and continued hurrying, snapping sticks, rustling plants, and rounding bends.

Eventually she came across another Team Plasma member. Who turned around and blocked Hilda's path upon seeing her, "My, my, aren't you looking for something?"

"I'm looking for the exhibit that you guys stole!" Hilda angrily demanded, "Where is it?"

"Sorry dear! I'm empty-handed! Do I look like the kind of girl to carry a heavy load?"

Attitude was never anything Hilda took calmly.

"Well how am I supposed to know that?" Hilda snapped, "You guys are so identical I can never tell who's who."

The angry woman bit back, "You know what? I think you're only sabotaging us because you're flat out jealous of our cool outfits!"

Hilda rolled her eyes and walked past her, "Yeah about that, I was about to ask you if the clown you stole it from was still hunting you down. Have you people ever heard of something called individuality?"

"Bleh! I hope our boss wipes you out!" She dissed Hilda as she went around the curve.

"I hope you find better taste in clothes!" Hilda yelled back. She rolled her eyes, "Sheesh… what a pain…"

Hilda was never the girlish type who worried about clothes and stuff like that, but she could not fathom why they would wear stupid looking uniforms like that!

She moved deeper into the woods, the sky becoming less visible as she went on, "I hope I can find this skull before it gets too dark…"

* * *

The shores of Undella Town were a lot brighter than he remembered them. Nonetheless, Iris dropped her load onto the white sand before running into the Pokémon Center.

Meaning Hilbert was left to set up the spot, _"The least she could've done was help before going to change into her bathing suit."_

He sighed and got their beach stuff unpacked. Coincidentally, almost too much so, Iris had come back out wearing her swimsuit.

"You know…" Hilbert stated, "You could've at least helped a little."

Iris giggled, "I know you can handle yourself!" She decided to change the subject, "So Hilbert, how is your sister doing?"

Hilbert had completely spaced out his younger sister's planned adventure until then, "Oh that's right. Hilda started her own Pokémon journey didn't she?"

"So? How is she doing? How many Pokémon has she caught? Is she going to collect gym badges?"

This was embarrassing for Hilbert to admit, but he had no idea what Hilda was planning on doing. He hadn't spoken to her for some time, but he did hear via an e-mail from their mother that she had embarked on a Pokémon voyage.

Iris had read his mind, "You don't know?"

"I… hadn't talked to her in a long time Iris." Hilbert awkwardly confessed.

"You need to find her somehow! Or communicate! I want to know what she plans to do!"

"Well if she's traveling around." Hilbert quoted, "I'm sure we'll run into her eventually."

* * *

Hilda followed the path to a wood log leading on top of a ledge, she crawled into the log hoping it wouldn't tumble to her weight. She scooted down another log leading down into an open field.

She noticed a small ledge leading back to the pavement that she saw on the straightforward route. But no other path.

"Is this the end of the line?" Hilda asked aloud to herself.

"I'm afraid so girl." Came an unexpected answer.

Hilda was face to face with another Team Plasma, "You! What do you think you're doing!?"

"I'm the one who should be asking that question, how can a kid like you beat some of us!?"

"Beat some of you? All I did was ask them if they had anything, they didn't so I just moved on!"

The Plasma man shrugged, "I guess they thought you weren't really going to chase after me. Heh, that can't be helped, but… I'll take you on right now!"

"That's fine with me!" Hilda declared, "Tepig let's go!" sending in her Tepig.

"Tepig!"

"This shouldn't be a problem." He taunted, "Sandile go!"

The sand croc snapped its jaw, raring to go!

"Tepig! Use tackle!"

Tepig charged.

"Sandile! Use bite!"

Sandile lept forward, catching Tepig in its jaws.

"Tepig!" The pig cried out.

"Tepig shake it off with Flame Charge!"

Tepig's body engulfed in flames, burning the mouth of the Sandile. It threw Tepig out of pain.

"Sandile! Use sand tomb!"

Sandile summoned a mound of sand all around Tepig, trapping the fire pig in a sandy typhoon.

"Tepig no!"

With Tepig trapped Hilda was unable to return him, to make matters worse a ground type is strong against fire type.

Hilda's mind ran for options, but she didn't have much. Except one thing came to mind…

"Tepig flame charge!" It was a risk, but one worth taking.

Tepig tried hard to engulf itself in flames, but the sand was keeping it down.

The Team Plasma man laughed, "Forget it girl, your Tepig is doomed. As well as the rest of your Pokémon. Once I defeat you and your pathetic team they'll all become property of Team-!"

He didn't get a chance to finish, he stopped upon feeling the heat of Tepig's full blown flame charge dissipating the sand box. And that Tepig was no longer Tepig! He had evolved into Pignite!

"What the heck!? How is that possible!?"

Hilda herself was amazed, she checked out her Pokedex,

_Pignite, The Fire Pig Pokemon. Whatever it eats becomes fuel for the flame in its stomach. When it is angered, the intensity of the flame increases._

She applauded her newly evolved Pokemon, "Because I believed in him! Now Pignite! Flame charge full power!"

Pignite sprinted to Sandile and smashed into the sand croc head on, sending it flying back far and losing all HP.

"No way!" Team Plasma was shocked.

Pignite ran into Hilda's arms, "Great work!" Hilda congratulated him.

"Plasmaaaa! If this keeps up we won't save the Pokémon!"

"What is your problem?" Hilda frustratingly interrogated, "People and Pokemon are happy together! The only saving they need is from you guys!"

He paused, glaring at Hilda before saying, "Fine! Take the stupid skull!" He hauled the large bone at her, "So the dream our king had… the dream we had… won't come true…"

"You guys have a king!?" Hilda was stunned, "Who is he?"

Before the Plasma subordinate could answer, a robed man with a tall hat appeared and questioned the Team Plasma member, "How are you holding up, fellow subject of our king?"

"Gorm of the Seven Sages!" He greeted before groaning, "Sir, I'm mortified, and unhappy to report, that the skull we went through so much to obtain was stolen from us so easily."

Gorm shook his head, "It's not important. We can afford to abandon the Dragon Skull. According to the results of our research, this is not the legendary Pokémon for which Team Plasma is looking. It is completely unrelated."

_"So that's what they wanted the skull for…"_ Hilda thought.

Gorm then turned his attention to Hilda, "However… we will not allow anyone to disrupt our plans and get away with it. We will fix it so you never interfere with us again."

Burgh suddenly showed up, "Oh sweet! The bug Pokémon were getting worked up! So I came here. What do I spy with my little eye? This important-looking guy!"

Hilda hoped he was referring to the man in the robes, and not the loser he's in charge of.

"Are you here to help your friends? Whom I defeated?" Burgh proudly declared.

"Hilda! Burgh!" Lenora caught up with the group, "The others didn't have anything… Who is this guy supposed to be? Are you the big boss?" she asked Gorm.

"I am one of the Seven Sages of Team Plasma." Gorm formally introduced, "Ghetsis, another of the Seven Sages, will liberate Pokémon with words alone! The remainder of the Seven Sages have ordered their compatriots to take Pokémon with full force! But the odds are a little against us now. To you, the Bug Pokémon user Burgh and the Normal Pokémon user Lenora, I say... Know your enemies, know yourself, and know you need not fear the result of a hundred battles... This time, we shall retreat quietly. To secure the liberation of Pokémon we will steal from Trainers! Even though you are Gym Leaders, we will not tolerate any further obstruction from you. In any case, we will settle this someday."

Hilda, Burgh, and Lenora had a feeling of unease.

"I hope you are looking forward to that time as much as I..." They left leaving the three with those words.

"They sure are a speedy bunch…" Lenora broke the silence, "So Burgh what are you going to do? Are you chasing after them?"

Burgh thought for a moment, "Hmm… Well we got the stolen skull back. If we corner them, there's no telling what they might do. So I think I'll head back."

He turned to Hilda, "I'll be looking forward to your Challenge at the Castelia City gym!" Before leaving.

Lenora smiled, "My theory about you was correct. You're more than just talented... You're motivated! I salute you!"

"Thanks! Now how about we get back to our battle at the gym?"

To her surprise, Lenora replied, "That won't be needed Hilda."

"What do you mean?"

"You're fighting style is so enchanting. It is charming. Even though you didn't defeat me in battle, You have undoubtedly proven yourself a Pokémon Trainer worthy of receiving this Basic Badge!" She handed Hilda the badge.

She was surprised; it was out of tradition for a trainer to receive a badge without defeating the leader first. But looking at Lenora's face she could tell the older woman was serious.

"After all." Lenora continued, "Not anyone would go up against a criminal gang. Let alone beat them."

With further consideration to herself, Hilda accepted the Basic Badge, "Thank you, My next step would be to challenge Burgh!"

"Go for it!" Lenora encouraged, "Before you leave I have some advice that might be helpful for your adventure."

Hilda listened.

"Some problems you can't solve even if you think about them your whole life. Some problems have different answers depending on the person."

"So what can I do?" Hilda asked.

"Follow your heart, and hope things turn out for the better. Take care of yourself! Good luck on your journey!"

"I will! You have my thanks Lenora!"

After waving bye to Lenora, Our young heroine set out for Castelia City. Where her next gym challenge awaits! Hopefully without interruption.


	11. Chapter 11: Castelia Chaos!

Iris and Hilbert laid next to each other on separate beach towels. Iris was quite pleased with herself, looking over at her best friend. He had fallen asleep already, how typical of him.

Something important had suddenly flashed in her mind, she sprung up to a sitting position.

"Oh no I completely forgot!" She hurridly packed her belongings back into her bag.

Hilbert rubbed his eyes awake, "What's going on Iris?"

"I was supposed to meet Drayden Castelia City today! Oh this is not cool ugh!" She flung her clothes on over her swimsuit.

"Castelia City?" Hilbert coolly answered, "That place is too lively and fast-paced for me."

"Well I have to get going. Thanks for taking me to the beach today!" She took out a Poke ball and release the Archeop inside, "Quick Archeop! Take me to Castelia City! Quick like a bunny!"

With an amazing jump she hopped onto her Pokemon's back and flew off into the bright blue sky. Hilbert was left chuckling at his friend's quirky personality.

"I hope Drayden isn't mad… I can't believe I forgot he wanted to tell me something today, and he said it was very important! I hope I can make it in time!"

* * *

Hilda leaned over the balcony edge that gave her an incredible view of the ocean and the Unova famous Skyarrow Bridge.

"Wow! So this is Skyarrow Bridge! I've always wanted to visit this place!"

From where she was, Skyarrow bridge was quite large. As she followed its path into the distance, it got smaller and faded off into the true blue horizon.

Off into the distance, she could see the skyline of Castelia City blended into the sunny blue sky. She passed through the simple gate that would lead to the bridge.

Once on the bridge, she was taken aback as to how colossal the bridge was compared to being on it, and just looking from afar. Crossing the bridge was an adventure in itself. First, the bridge took her into a small twist. She had never seen anything like this before! From then on it was a straight path, just below the footpath were pavement roads. Cars and trucks rushed past her as she walked.

In the waters below, she heard the deep bellow of a ship's horn. Peering over the ledge, she caught a view of the well-known Royal Unova.

The Royal Unova is a gold themed ferry that gives its passengers a journey up Unova's eastern river. Many who have ridden it say that if you ride during the evening, it's the most gorgeous sunset you'll ever see.

Hilda rested her head on her arms leaning on the rails, "Wow... I would love to cruise that ship at least once. Especially if it was a date..." She giggled at the thought, then sighed, "But, I could never afford a cruise like that..." and continued walking.

Castelia City was no doubt nothing like she had ever seen before. The buildings were so tall they seemed to touch the clouds. But what really caught her off guard was the massive crowd! So many people going every possible direction in one spot!

"Hilbert would NOT like this place a bit." Hilda muttered to herself.

When she spotted a hole in the flow of people, she jumped in and went along with the flow. Brushing several shoulders with the opposing side. She managed to notice a map on the wall that was a layout of the entire city. She leapt from the movement to get a closer look.

"Hmm... Okay if I take this street, then I should be able to find the gym."

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEK!" A loud screech broke the noise. Everyone nearby gasped loudly.

"Get out of my way!" Came a voice shortly after, A tall figure had ran by shoving Hilda aside and disappeared into the massive crowd.

Everyone started to talk.

"What was that?"

"What just happened?"

"I saw it! A blonde girl with a round green hat got her Pokémon taken from her! She's with another girl at Unity Pier!"

That set Hilda into action mode, "Oh no! That's Bianca!" She shoved through the wall of people and hurried to find Unity Pier. Once she found it via signboards. Sure enough, there was Bianca. Afraid and crying.

"Bianca!"

As the crowd had said, Bianca wasn't alone. There was a familiar face by her side!

Hilda got closer, "Iris? Is that you?"

The purple haired girl looked up, her expression suddenly changed, "Hilda! It's so good to see you again! But we don't have time to reminisce right now!"

"What happened here?"

Iris pointed to Bianca, "Her Pokémon got stolen!"

"What did you say!?"

Bianca mumbled, "Hilda... My Munny got stolen... It's Team Plasma again!"

"Oh no not again!"

Iris explained, "I came running when I heard her scream... I chased after the thief as quickly as I could but... I lost them. This city is so huge."

Burgh, the gym leader that helped Hilda out in the forest. Happened to stroll by and notice the girls. He approached them, "Hilda what's going on?"

"Burgh! My friend Bianca's Pokémon got stolen from Team Plasma!"

"Oh my!" Was his reaction, "Them again?"

Iris told her part, "I tried to catch the thief but this city is so crowded."

"Well, Hilda let's cooperate again. After all, finding a person or Pokémon in this city is like trying to find a needle in a haystack."

Luckily they didn't have too, a Team Plasma member had shown up and boy was she surprised to see what was waiting, "What do we have here!? A gym leader?"

"There she is!" Bianca pointed out, "She's the one that stole my Munny!"

She bragged, "Last time went so well I thought I'd go grab another one. But rethinking I'd better get outta here!" She took off into the city.

"Hey!" Hilda shouted and took off running full speed.

The pursuit went deep into the city, this Plasma women was quite agile. Twisting and turning through various people, as fast as Hilda can run, even she was having a hard time keeping up with this thief. Until she just couldn't see her anymore.

Hilda stumbled out of the way of traffic and panted, "Sheesh... a grown woman running from a 15 year old. Pathetic Plasma... Sheesh she could've gone anywhere in this city."

"Hilda over here!"

It was Burgh flagging her down.

She ran over, "What is it?"

"I found where they're hiding. Let's go."

He led Hilda to a quiet building just across the street from the gym. And to her surprise, that's where the Plasmas were standing!

"Whose idea was this anyway!?"

"Come on now don't pretend that you didn't think that it was funny to make a base right across the street from the gym!"

"Shut up you two they'll hear you!"

They were surprised to see that Burgh and Hilda were now within conversation distance.

Team Plasma panicked, "Oh no this is bad! Badbadbadbadbadbadbad! Bad for Team Plasma! Or Plasbad for short!"

"Well don't just stand there! It's in our best interest to go alert the sages now!" They ran inside the opened base. Wow, how simple.

Hilda rolled her eyes, "This is seriously the best they could come up with?"

A voice came from down the street, "Hilda!" It was Iris, dragging Bianca along with her, "Sorry for the holdup we got lost! Even with directions from the Xtranciever we still couldn't figure it out..."

"Team Plasma is inside." Burgh directed, "The stolen Pokémon could be in there as well. Okay! I'm going in!" He charged full speed inside.

"I'll join the fight too!" Iris determined, "You too Bianca! Let's go!" She grabbed her wrist without a moment's pause, Hilda sped beside Iris with Bianca struggling to keep up.

Inside the building, the heroes were confronted by the Plasma grunts, two important-looking guys, and surprise surprise! There he was in the center of it all! Ghetsis was there alongside them! Boy was he surprised to see what had come for Team Plasma.

He chuckled, "My word, if it isn't the gym leader Burgh."

"What would you say is the guiding principle of Team Plasma, anyway?" Burgh flippantly replied, "Is it, 'take what you want from people'?"

The smaller robed man to the right of Ghetsis whispered to him, "I thought it would be amusing to prepare a hideout right in front of the Pokémon gym. But we were detected much quicker than I had imagined."

Ghetsis shrugged, "No matter. We already have an exceptional base of operations." He turned to the group, "Is everyone familiar with the legend of the founding of the Unova region?"

Iris jumped, raising her hand, "Me! I am! It's the white Dragon-type Pokémon, right?"

Ghetsis stepped forward, "The truth is this... The white dragon appeared before a hero who sought the true way to knit together a world full of many warring people. This white Dragon-type Pokémon shared its knowledge - and bared its fangs at those who stood against it. Together, the power of this Pokémon and the hero brought unity to the hearts of everyone in the land, and that is how Unova was created."

He paced to the left, "We shall bring back the hero and that Pokémon to Unova once again! If we can win people's hearts and minds, we can easily create the world that I desi- uh... I mean, Team Plasma - desires!"

Burgh shook his head, "Here in Castelia, no, the whole world, we have a lot of different kinds of people. Everyone's ways of thinking and lifestyles are very different. I can honestly say that there's something about what you're saying that I don't quite understand."

"Yes?"

"What is it?"

"One thing we all have in common is that we all care a lot about Pokémon."

Hilda stepped forward, "That's right! Even people who meet for the first time can talk about Pokémon! Battling, trading, you name it!"

Burgh made a surprising statement, "I remember you're speech you made in Accumula Town Ghetsis."

"You were there Burgh?" Hilda asked.

"Yes, I was. And I must say, Ghetsis, you were responsible for leading me to rethink my relationship with Pokémon. For that, I thank you."

The girls were curious, is Burgh backing up these thugs?

Just then Burgh announced, "I swore to myself that I would dedicate myself to Pokémon even more strongly!"

They breathed a silent sigh of relief.

"What you guys are doing... Aren't you going to strengthen the bond between people and Pokémon even more?"

Ghetsis took his speech in for a moment, then started laughing, "Myah-ha-ha-ha! You're quite difficult to figure out, a little more intelligent than I'd expected."

He cleared his throat, "I am fond of intelligent people, you see. You'll enjoy hearing about this... From every corner of the world, I have gathered knowledgeable people for our king's benefit. You could call them the Seven Sages of Team Plasma."

_"Seven sages..."_ Hilda thought, _"He must be talking about those important guys beside him..."_

"Very well!" Ghetsis finished, "We will submit to your opinion and be on our way." He pointed to a female grunt, "You there! Return that girl's Pokémon!"

She sighed and reluctantly released Munna from her captivity, upon being set free Munna looked around and made a hurry for Bianca once she saw her.

Bianca embraced her pink Pokémon, "Oh Munny I'm so glad to have you again! Th-thank you!"

Iris struck Bianca's arm, "Bianca don't thank them! They steal people's precious Pokémon!"

Bianca wiped a tear drop, "It's just... I'm... I'm so happy that my Munna is safe."

"Thanks is the last thing any of these goons deserve." Hilda remarked.

Ghetsis spoke, "The friendship between Pokémon and people can be very touching. But, in order to liberate Pokémon from foolish people, we will revive the legend of Unova - and win the hearts and minds of everyone. Farewell..."

The Team Plasma group quietly left, Iris was still fired up, "What are you doing Burgh!? Why are you letting them get away!?"

"Iris! What do we do if anything's happened to the other stolen Pokémon?" he answered tensely.

Hilda quickly cooled the situation, "We need to calm down now! They're gone."

"It's okay." Bianca added, "Thank you for protecting me Iris! No one was hurt. More than anything, I got my darling Munny back again!"

"Okay, if you're happy..." Iris grudgingly said. It was hard for her to let these things go easily. Hilda, having a bold personality herself, could relate to her. It's part of how they get along so well.

"So what is everyone planning to do now?" Burgh asked.

Bianca was the first to answer, "It would be sensational to look around Castelia City, but..."

Iris sprung into action, "Don't you worry Bianca!" She cheerfully said, "I'll keep on being your bodyguard! Come on!"

Burgh recommended this, "Iris is a dazzling Pokémon Trainer, but maybe not at home in the big city yet? So, a little give-and-take, hm! People and Pokémon need help to each other out."

"Burgh I want to challenge you to a gym match!" Hilda stated.

"I see, Well, then, Hilda I'll be waiting in the Gym." He headed for the gym.

"Thanks for helping us out Hilda!" Iris expressed, "I'll be sure to tell your brother that I saw you here! Good luck at the gym!"

"Thanks Iris! Tell him I said hey and that I hope to see him soon!"

"Sure thing! All right Bianca let's go!" She got behind her and shoved outside full speed with Bianca protesting, "Waaaait!"

Hilda and the gang managed to drive away Team Plasma once again! But what are they plotting? How big are their plans? With Hilda on her way to her next gym battle, things are sure to get lively real quick!

* * *

**Author's note: I just wanted to say I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you remember to be grateful for everything you have and to eat lots! ;P **

**Fav, follow, review, or all of the above :D**

**Stay flying!**


	12. Chapter 12: Bug Battle!

The gym was… rather odd. Hilda didn't know what to make of it. The walls were slathered in honey and the paint job was definitely unique. One problem, she was in a small hexagon room! Where's the gym leader? What in Arceus is this?

"Hey there champ-in-the-making!" A gray-haired man with sunglasses addressed her.

"What's up with this gym?" Hilda immediately asked.

"The theme of this gym is walking through the walls."

She gave him a confused look, "What?"

"I know that sticky sweet honey may seem impossible to pass, but if you keep trying you'll fall through." He directed her to a wall of honey, "Just push right through it!"

Hilda grinned, "Oh, I get it. So it's like a game of Red Rover."

"Er… yes if you put it that way."

Red Rover was one of Hilda's favorite games as a child, she was never the kind to shy away from rougher games. Red Rover being no exception.

She eyed the honey wall and muttered to herself, "Red Rover, Red Rover, let Hilda come over!" Before making a beeline for the wall. Now enveloped in the sweet sticky substance, the wall put up quite a resistance before giving way and allowing Hilda to pop right through. Now covered in the delicious honey, she licked her lips, wiped her nose, her eyes, and took her hat off and made an attempt to shake the honey off to no avail. So instead she used the back of her hat, which had the least honey on it, to clean her face.

It suddenly struck her, of course, this is the bug type gym. It was designed like a beehive. After walking down the hive-like corridors, she came across yet another honey wall! Much to her annoyance.

"As much as I love honey. This is taking it a bit too far." Hilda remarked to herself. Again she darted into the luscious wall and came out the other side with a little resistance. Now she finds herself in a hexagon room similar to the entrance. The color scheme was a tad different, the floor was a glowing purple, and instead of another honey wall there were a set of stairs.

Hilda hauled herself up the stairs, which wouldn't be hauling if she wasn't getting weighed down by honey. As she made her way up the stairs she left behind a sweet gooey trail behind her.

At the top of the stairs, she stood on top of a gorgeous stained-glass stage. On the opposite side, Burgh stood there waiting.

"Welcome to the Castelia City gym!" He then realized who he was talking too, "Oh hey there Hilda! I didn't recognize you covered in all that honey!"

Hilda sputtered some of the honey, "A little advice Burgh! Why don't you try something other than honey walls!"

He came to her with a damp kitchen towel, chuckling, "Here, try to clean yourself the best you can. I actually am considering a redesign. You're not the first that's complained."

"You don't say?" She mumbled, wiping herself down.

"So anyway, thanks again for your help. My bug Pokémon are scurrying with excitement about getting to battle you."

"Is that so? Well it would be rude to keep them waiting how about we get this battle started now?" Hilda encouraged, tossing the towel back to Burgh.

"Sounds good to me! Let's get straight into it!"

Let the gym battle between challenger Hilda and gym leader Burgh commence!

"I know what Pokemon I'm going to use! Pignite let's go!"

Pignite sparkled out of its Poke ball showing off its muscles!

"Oh tough opponent!" Burgh acknowledged, "Whirlipede!"

He sent out a lavender cooned Pokemon out, prompting Hilda to check her Pokedex,

_Whirlipede, the Curlipede Pokémon and the evolved form of Venipede. Whirlipede can spin its hard shelled body like a tire to smash into opponents._

"Oh boy, this is going to be a long battle." Hilda shut her Pokedex, "But I'm ready! Pignite use ember now!"

"Whirlipede! Use Poison Tail!"

Pignite shot fireballs out of its nose and used its breath to blow them quickly toward the rushing Whirlipede. The fast moving air fanned the fire and made them bigger, burning the bug Pokémon harshly.

"Whirlipede use Pursuit!"

Whirlipede rolled for Pignite.

"Pignite use Flame Wheel!"

Pignite ignited himself and ran for Whirlipede, seconds before impact Whirlipede inexplicably vanished. Causing Pignite to disengage his fire and look around for his target.

The bug suddenly appeared behind him and struck him with a dark power. Pignite yelped out then flipped around to face his opponent.

"Pignite use ember!"

The buffed fire pig repeated the shooting embers and they rained down on Whirlipede, knocking it out quickly.

"Whirlipede return!" He returned the tired bug Pokemon, "Could it be time to bug out of here? No, no, I refuse to be squashed! Leavanny go!"

The next Pokémon he sent out was a thin, tall, bipedal insectoid Pokémon. It has a broad, split leaf around its large, round head and it has long antennae that end in semicircles.

Hilda looked at her Pokedex,

_Leavanny, the Nurturing Pokémon and the evolved form of Swadloon. When Leavanny finds a small Pokémon it makes clothing for it with its arm cutters, using leaves and sticky silk._

"Sounds like a very motherly Pokémon." Hilda nodded.

"Don't let that fool you." Burgh warned, "Leavanny's a tough bug! Leavanny use razor leaf!"

"Pignite use ember now!"

Leavanny threw sharp leaves like ninja stars at Pignite, who in response countered with fire and lit up the incoming leaves. Leavanny proved itself a very agile Pokémon and danced all around the falling fire.

"Pignite use flame charge!"

Pignite lit itself up and dashed for the dancing Pokémon, Leavanny jumped out of the way but not without getting burnt by some of the fires in the air.

"Leavanny! Struggle bug now!"

Leavanny headed for Pignite.

"Pignite! Flame Charge!"

Pignite set himself alight right when Leavanny was ready to strike him, giving Leavanny a hand-on-hot-stove reaction. While the grass-bug was distracted, Pignite charged and tackled it with all of his flaming fire. Leavanny didn't stand a chance.

Burgh looked surprised, "Is it over? Has my muse abandoned me?" He nodded, "I lost. Return Leavanny."

Hilda was giving Pignite a high-five, when Burgh walked over.

"Losing to you doesn't bug me because you are a-MAZ-ingly strong! This is the Gym Badge! You beat me, so it's yours!"

"Thanks a ton Burgh!" Hilda accepted the badge, "Check it out Pignite!"

"It's the Insect Badge! It's insectible!" He paused upon realizing he fumbled, "Uh, I mean, incredible!"

Hilda chuckled.

"I'm the best guy to tell you, it's the little things that count!"

"It sure is!" Hilda agreed, "It's amazing how so easy we can forget that. My father used to tell me that all the time."

"You learned from your dad? Tell me something Hilda, how many discoveries have you made since you started your adventure?"

"Like what Burgh?"

He took a deep breath, "When I was a kid, my innocent heart was captured by the beauty of bug Pokémon. I drew them and battled with them. And after all this time, I continue to discover new things. A world shared with Pokémon is a world swarming with mysteries."

"That is true. But I myself haven't figured out what I truly want to do." Hilda admitted, "Should I focus on my Pokedex? Should I work on perfecting my Pokémon training technique? I know that if you collect all of the gym badges, you qualify for the Pokémon League but… I'm not sure if that's the road for me, right now I'm only collecting them as a way to meet many kinds of Pokémon, and to get stronger so I can travel farther."

Burgh assured Hilda, "I'm sure that you'll find out what you wish to do."

"But do you really know what I want to do at this moment?"

"What's that?"

"Take a shower… The honey has dried up and now I'm all gross and pasty."

Burgh laughed awkwardly, "Yeah, I definitely need to get this gym redone. I apologize."

Despite the fact that she's gummed in honey, Hilda was triumphant in her battle against Burgh despite his tricky attacks! Now she's opened her mind to the possibilities that her Pokémon adventure could bring her, all she needs to do now is decide.

After Hilda had made it back outside, her Xtranciver started to ring.

She answered, "Hello?"

Bianca appeared on the screen, "Hey Hilda! Where are you now?"

"I just got out of the gym." She held her badge where Bianca could see, "See for yourself!"

"Wow that's great Hilda! Say, could you do me a favor?"

"Sure! What's up?"

"Let's have a Pokémon battle! Iris trained me, and I've become a little stronger. I should be able to protect my own Pokémon now. I'll meet you at the gate to Route 4 okay?"

"Uh… actually Bianca." Hilda laughed a little.

"What's the matter Hilda?"

"I think I should take a shower first at the Pokémon Center I'm… kind of honey coated." She used the camera to show Bianca.

Bianca was shocked, "What in the world happened? How did you…? Did you fall into a beehive or something?"

"Heheh… Sort of! It's a long story. Listen I'll go take a shower, and then I'll meet you at the gate okay?"

"Oh…kay. Sure! I'll wait. See you later!"

"Bye."

The streets of Castelia City were much quieter at night, Hilda wondered on the streetlight lit sidewalks. On the way to the Pokémon Center she passed by a pink and white themed stand with a long line.

Curious, she tapped the shoulder of the man last in line, "Excuse me? What's everyone getting here?"

The man turned around, "Hm? Oh this! Here you can buy the dessert that everyone in Castelia City is talking about! The famous Casteliacone! It's quite delicious."

"Oh really?" Hilda was interested, "Well I think I would like to have one. I love ice cream."

"The line is quite long, but believe me it's well-worth waiting for."

"I sure hope so."

Hilda stood in the long line, but it seemed to be moving a lot quicker than she imagined. Every ten seconds the line would move and she would have to take a step forward. People lined up behind her as the line shortened.

When she finally got to the front the seller greeted her, the Castiliacone cost her 100 Poké Dollars. She paid the seller and watched her take some vanilla ice cream, scoop it into a small bowl, and scattered some blue sprinkles on it.

"Here you go! Have a nice day!"

"Thanks!" Hilda took a lick, _"Mmm! This is tasty!"_ It was sweet, the perfect cold for this weather, and the sprinkles gave it a tasty little kick. Satisfied she continued on to the Pokémon Center, slurping her delicious treat.


	13. Chapter 13: The Calm Before the Storm

The nurse welcomed her, "Hello welcome to the Pokémon Center!"

"I would like a room." Hilda requested.

"Okay, how long will you be staying?"

"I just need the room for an hour, I need to take a shower and wash my clothes."

The nurse was perplexed, but upon examining Hilda better she noticed why, "Let me guess, you challenged the gym?"

"Uh huh." Hilda nodded.

"Here's room keys to 261. We can also have the laundry service help you out okay?"

"Okay, thanks."

Once Hilda found her room she changed out of her dirty clothes and put them on a hanger on the outer doorknob for the laundry people to pick up. Then she went into the bathroom and turned on the shower.

* * *

"Hilbert I'm back!" Iris returned from Castelia City.

"You sure took long. What were you doing? I thought you were just going to see Drayden."

"I was but something came up. It was a bit of an emergency, guess who I saw by the way!"

"Who?"

"I saw your sister, Hilda, and her friend Bianca!"

"Oh did you?" Hilbert replied, interested.

"That's why I took so long, these group of bad guys named Team Plasma had stolen Bianca's Pokémon. Hilda and I helped get it back, then I decided I was going to train Bianca for a bit."

Hilbert was taken aback, "Wow, you're… kind of blowing my mind Iris. But you did get Bianca's Pokémon returned right?"

"Yes, and I helped her get tougher." Iris declared proudly.

"That's great Iris! What about Cheren? Was he there?"

"Nope."

"Ah, that's too bad. So what did Drayden want?"

Iris's energy level suddenly skyrocketed, "Oh this is great Hilbert! Grandpa is going to retire and he passed the gym leader title to me!"

Hilbert nearly spilled his soda from surprise, "Are you serious? So you're going to be the gym leader in Opelucid City?"

"This'll be soo cool! I can't wait to get started!"

"Let's get to training right now!" Hilbert stood up and took Iris by the hand dragging her along.

"Hey don't leave the stuff behind!" Iris yelled out, laughing.

* * *

By the time Hilda had stepped out of the shower and dried off, her clothes had been returned to her. They were folded neatly on the bed, fresh and clean. Hilda gave her hair a quick blow-dry, which was a bit of a struggle due to the large amount of hair she had. Then changed into her cleaned clothes, still smelling like the flowery detergent.

At the front desk she returned the keys and thanked the nurse before leaving. She hurried to the gate to Route 4 as she did not want to keep Bianca waiting any longer. Hilda ran into the gate and scanned around for her friend.

"I'm here Bianca!"

"Oh there you are Hilda!" Bianca appeared behind her.

"Hey, sorry for the hold up."

"It's okay, what happened anyway?"

Hilda sighed, "I'll explain later, how about we get to our battle? We'll each use two Pokémon okay?"

"Sounds good! Wait, before we get into that…" Bianca approached the woman at the reception desk and exchanged some conversation with her before going back to Hilda.

"She said it'll be okay if we have a battle in here as long as we don't break the electronic screen."

"All right then." Hilda replied, "Shall we?" she smirked.

"I'm the new and improved version of me! It's gonna go great this time!" Bianca confidently indicated.

"Let's get to the fun! All right Purrlion let's go!"

"Rawr!" Purrlion yowled cutely.

"You remember my sweet little Purrlion don't you Bianca?" Hilda teased.

Sure enough she did, "How can I forget the little sweetie that stole my hat?" She gripped her hat with one hand, "You're not getting it this time darling!"

Purrlion stood up and copied Bianca's pose, "Purrlion!"

"All right enough with the cute stuff! Panpour go!"

Panpour emerged from the light with a smile.

"Panpour use water gun now!"

Panpour released a ray of water at Purrlion.

"Purrlion use scratch!"

The cunning cat repeatedly danced around the sprays of water and jumped at PanPour, with bared claws she swiped her way over the water monkey's head. Panpour yelped in pain.

"My Pokémon and me! We trained and got tough! Panpour use lick!"

Panpour spun around and drug its tongue across Purrlion's face, it managed to do quite a bit of damage despite the fact that a ghost type move wasn't very effective against a dark type Pokémon like Purrlion.

"Purrlion use assist!"

Purrlion drew the power of Flame Charge from Pignite, she ignited, giving Panpour's tongue a new level of hot. Panpour yelped back in pain. Purrlion tackled into the monkey still ablaze, giving some extra damage.

"Uh oh, Panpour! Use scratch!"

"Okay Purrlion, use Pursuit!"

Both Pokémon dashed to each other, just before impact Purrlion jolted to the side and hit Panpour, knocking it out.

"Oh no Panpour! Return!" She recalled Panpour.

Purrlion mimicked Bianca's shocked expression, "Purrlion!"

Hilda too, decided to recall her Pokémon, "Okay you little cutie, return!"

"Wow Hilda you've gotten stronger too!" Bianca complimented, "But both my Pokémon and I are going to give it our all!" She chose her next Pokémon, "Go Servine!" Out she sent the evolved form of Snivy.

"You're Pokémon sure are evolving quickly Bianca!" Hilda noticed.

"You bet they are! Iris gave me advice!"

"Well let's keep testing your ability!" Hilda took a Poke ball, "I'll use my own grass type against yours, Pansage let's go!"

The grass monkey cheered, merging from the Poke ball light.

"Servine use wrap!"

The grass snake slithered quickly over to Pansage and wrapped him up tight, squeezing him.

"Pansage use bite!"

Pansage sunk its teeth in Servine's body, forcing the snake to let go. Both grass types stood facing each other, awaiting the next command from their trainers.

* * *

A bustling city of entertainment, with many theme parks, Nimbasa City stands tall and proud. A pair of Team Plasma men are keeping a low profile within the city, wondering what to do next.

"So what do you want to do now?"

"Something productive."

"Like what? We need to impress our king somehow…"

"Hmm… hey buddy… do you see that old guy over there?".

"Huh? You mean that one?"

"Yeah, him, doesn't he own the day care?"

"I think so... oh I get it." He smiled evilly.

"Yeah… He must have a whole bunch of Pokémon in his care! If we steal all of them, that'll surely make our king pleased!"

He snickered, "All right! I got an idea, let's stalk him, and when a good opportunity comes, we jump him and demand the Pokémon!"

"All right yeah!" They exchanged a quiet high-five, "Let's get going."

* * *

Back in Nuvema Town, Bianca's father is ready to take off. He's noticed by his wife.

"Honey where are you going?"

"I'm going to get Bianca and bring her back home. She's gone far enough Sheila!"

"Don't you think you're being a little hasty dear? How are you going to even find her?"

"You told me last night you spoke to her over the Xtranciver, you said she was on her way to Nimbasa City. I'm going to head there, and wait for her to show up. Then I'm going to take her back here."

Sheila calmly argued, "Honey she told me how much fun she was having with Hilda, Cheren, and her Pokémon. You can't just stop her now!"

"I'm doing this because I don't want her getting hurt! Aren't you worried about that?"

"Of course! But she's got her friends looking out for her!"

He paused for a moment, before shaking his head, "I'm sorry but I've made up my mind, I heard on the news that there was this evil Team Plasma gang running around, stealing Pokémon, and causing trouble. I can't sleep at night knowing that Bianca is out there when they are."

He walked out of the house and flew away to Nimbasa City on his Unfezant.

_"Bianca, this is for your own good."_

* * *

"Pansage use scratch!"

Pansage hopped on over to the weakened Servine and swiped his claws across the snake's face sharply, putting it to the ground knocked out.

Bianca returned her Pokémon, "I trained with Iris... But I still couldn't win..." she sadly said after losing to Hilda a second time.

"Don't give up Bianca." Hilda encouraged her friend, "You just need to keep at it!"

That made her smile, "You're right Hilda. I may not be as strong as you, Cheren, and Iris but… You know, since we left Nuvema Town, I've met a lot of people and I've been thinking about what I want to do in life!"

Hilda was curious, "Have you figured it out?"

"Not yet, but when you look at it that way, Pokemon have given me a lot of new experiences."

"It's the kind of experience that's hard to find anywhere else!" Hilda pointed out.

Bianca agreed, "Yes… Having my Pokemon stolen was just really hard, and I felt so unsure…" She gave a smile, "But I'm so glad I went on this journey! I've learned so much! Like, being with Pokemon is really, really important!"

Hilda smiled back, "That's the spirit Bianca. Keep that in mind whenever you feel lost, and remember, Me, Cheren, Iris, and all of us are here for you. If you run into trouble again, we'll always be here."

"Thank you so much Hilda, you're the best." The two embraced.

After a minute or so Hilda says, "Come on, let's get going." Arm in arm the girls went into Route four.


	14. Chapter 14: Destiny Commenced!

Route 4! A huge half-constructed road through a desert leading to Nimbasa City. Most of the area was literally a desert. The first thing that hit the girls in that kind of environment was the sun.

Hilda remarked, "Have you ever noticed how much hotter the sun feels in the desert than anywhere else?"

"Geez, you don't say." Bianca replied.

"I heard that a recent sandstorm delayed the road construction to connect two cities. So now, trainers have no choice but to walk across the sand."

"Well that's not fun!" Bianca laughed, "I feel bad for trainers that have to… wait…"

Now it was Hilda's turn to laugh, "Yeah it kind of does, but hopefully the sand path won't be too long and- Hey look there's Cheren!"

"Cheren? Oh I see him! Hey Cheren over here!" The girls approached him.

He turned around, "Hm? Hello Hilda, Bianca, how are you two doing?"

"Guess what Cheren!" Bianca enthused, "Hilda has the Insect Badge!"

"Oh? Is that so Hilda?"

Hilda was amused by Bianca's happiness, "Yes it is." She showed him as proof, "Check it out."

An idea came to Cheren, "Well then, how about a test to see who's stronger Hilda?"

"You're on!" Hilda energized.

"Be careful Cheren she just beat me a few minutes ago!" Bianca cautioned.

"I did." Hilda confirmed, "I'll beat you too Cheren!"

Cheren calmly smiled, "We'll see about that. Pansear go!"

"Purrlion go!"

Cheren recognized the Purrlion, "Huh? That's the Purrlion…"

"I see you remember her too Cheren!" Hilda sweetly said, "Do you remember Cheren, Purrlion?"

In response, Purrlion copied his foot-tapping habit, "Purrlion! Purrlion!"

"You see! She remembers you!"

Purrlion then crawled up to Hilda's shoulder and started portraying 'Shipper on Deck' with her and Cheren, "Purrlion. Purrlion." Then raising her pitch, "Purrlion!"

Hilda blushed, Cheren was clueless, and Bianca was confused.

"That's enough Purrlion! Get to battle position!"

Purrlion giggled and hopped off her shoulder, ready to do battle with the fire monkey.

Cheren was the first to command, "Pansear, use fury swipes!"

Pansear made a bouncing run for Purrlion and began scratching repeatedly.

"Purrlion use pursuit!"

Purrlion vanished from in front of Pansear and attacked it from behind.

"Pansear use bite!"

"Purrlion use assist!"

Pansear launched itself to Purrlion with its mouth wide open, Purrlion drew the power of arm thrust. She packed a couple of paw slaps to Pansear.

"Pansear use incarcerate!"

Pansear blazed Purrlion with fire, knocking her out with a critical hit.

"Return Purrlion!" Hilda adjusted her hat, "You've gotten stronger Cheren! Pignite go!"

The pig Pokemon confidently struck its battle stance upon forming from the light.

"You better believe it!" Cheren bragged, "All right Pansear use fury swipes!"

"Pignite use arm thrust!"

Pansear jumped at Pignite, who in turn, met Pansear with packed punches. The power of an evolved Pokémon was too much for Pansear and it was knocked out.

"Pansear return! Hilda you've certainly improved! But we'll see how your Pignite will stand against Dewott!"

He sent out his starter into the field, "Dewott go!"

Both trainers now have their starters facing off.

"Dewott use razor shell!"

"Pignite use arm thrust!"

Dewott grabbed its shell and sent it flying toward Pignite, the fire Pokémon stood its own and used arm thrust to block the incoming shell. Then used the rest of its thrusts to strike Dewott.

"Dewott use fury cutter!"

The water Pokémon made a critical slash across Pignite.

"Pignite use smog!"

Pignite let loose a hideous purple gas out of its nose, Dewott reacted with disgust and became poisoned.

"Hang in there Dewott!" Cheren encouraged, "Use fury cutter again!"

"Pignite! Arm thrust!"

Pignite and Dewott delivered their attacks and became locked into a tense test of strengths! Both Pokémon and trainers gazed fiercely in anticipation at what will happen next.

Suddenly both Pokémon binged right off of each other, Pignite's move being a multiple hit move kept striking Dewott repeatedly until the water starter was knocked out.

Cheren took in this loss, "Dewott return!" He adjusted his glasses, "Well done. But why can't I win now!? I beat you before..."

Bianca was excited, "Wow Hilda! You and you're Pokémon are like, totally in sync!"

"You bet we are!" Hilda energetically boasted, "That's what really brings out my Pokémon's strength!"

Cheren nodded, "I see... Perhaps the reason you're so strong is because of the trust you share with your Pokémon. That's no problem, I could do that too. We'll become stronger before you know it!"

When Cheren finished his inspiring words, Hilda's Xtranciver began to ring, getting everyone's attention.

"Hello?" Hilda answered.

Professor Juniper appeared, "Hello Hilda! Do you have a second?"

"Yeah, what's going on?"

"Hilda, meet me at the gate leading to Nimbasa City. I've got something for you, I'll call Cheren and Bianca too."

"Oh no need Professor!" Hilda showed, "They're here with me!"

"I see! Well then! I need all three of you to come meet me!"

"No problem Professor!" Hilda agreed, then hung up.

Bianca wondered, "What does Professor Juniper need?"

"Well the only way we can find out is to get there Bianca." Hilda stated, "Come on let's go!" She threw her arms around her friends and the three crossed the dessert plains to the Nimbasa City gate.

"Oh ouchie the sand is so hot!" Bianca began to dance.

Cheren gave Bianca a 'really?' look, "How can you tell? You're wearing shoes!"

"This brings back memories about the time we all went to the beach!" Bianca replied, "The sand was hot there too!"

Hilda laughed, "Oh I remember that! Hey do you remember when we all went into the water and Cheren-!"

Cheren immediately halted the conversation, "All right that's enough of that!" His cheeks were tinted pink, "Come on let's go see what the Professor wants!" He ran on ahead.

Hilda and Bianca watched him, "I guess he's still embarrassed about it." Bianca assumed, while giggling.

"Hey I'd probably be embarrassed too if that happened to me." Hilda shrugged, "Come on let's catch up with him."

The adventurers walked the desert badlands until finally they reached the unfinished pavement road. From then on the road was flat the entire way to Nimbasa City gate.

As promised, Professor Juniper stood there waiting. She happily greeted the group, "Hello everyone! Glad to see you all here!"

"What did you need professor?" Cheren asked.

"I came here to give you all freebies! Here you go!" She gave everyone six ultra balls.

"Thanks professor!" Hilda expressed.

"Wow what are these?" Bianca questioned.

"These are ultra balls." The professor answered, "They have a higher catch rate than any poke ball, or great ball."

"Coooool!"

"That's awesome Professor! Thanks!" Hilda enthused.

"I know it might seem strange for me to say this, since I'm the one who asked you to complete the Pokedex." Professor Juniper started to say, "But please enjoy your journey! Of course, don't completely neglect the Pokedex but remember to have fun! I better get back now, so please excuse me." She headed back.

"I'm going to go back into the desert so I can catch the Pokémon that live there." Cheren planned, before he went back into the sandy enviorment.

"See ya later Cheren!" Hilda called to him.

Bianca however, was ready to move forward, "Come on Hilda! I heard that Nimbasa City has so many things to do! Like the amusment park, the Big Stadium, Small Court, Battle Subway, I think I'll go check out the Pokémon Musical!" She ran off into the city without waiting for Hilda's reply.

"Bianca wait up!" Hilda ran after her friend, as ditzy as Bianca is Hilda was worried that she'd get lost.

The city was so bright and portrayed a very friendly vibe! So many bright lights everywhere! It made Hilda wonder what the electricity bill on this place would be like.

Hilda started to search for Bianca, but then she was approached by an older man who seemed to be out of breath.

"You're a strong looking trainer! Please you've got to help me!" He begged.

Hilda became alert, "What's the matter?"

Her question was answered when low and behold, two Team Plasma grunts ran up to them.

"Come on now Gramps enough of this!" One of them says, "We know you run the day care! We're Team Plasma! We know this stuff!"

The other then said, "We're taking Pokémon from people. Seeing as you run the day care you must have a ton of Pokémon! Hand them over! Now!"

The man they were targeting got behind Hilda, "What is this nonsense!?"

"What is wrong with you guys?" Hilda scolded, "How could you attack a poor old man? Weren't you ever taught to respect your elders?"

"You shut it girlie! If you get in our way we'll take your Pokémon too!"

Hilda glared, "I'd like to see you try!"

"Come on let's get her!"

They ran for her, parallel to each other. Just before they got within arms length of Hilda, she suddenly dropped to the floor. Resulting in them crashing heads and falling backwards. One into a trash bin, another took a tumble into a fountain.

Hilda whispered to the day care man, "Hurry get out of here!" He nodded and did as suggested, disappearing into the crowd while the Plasma's struggled to get out of where they were.

The trash bin one managed to get to his feet, but did not succeed in getting the bin off of him. The fountain Plasma emerged from the water and flung the bin off the other.

"Curses!" He swore, "Thanks to this kid our target got away!"

"Well then let's get started on plan B!" The other stated, "Quick! Into the amusement park!" They hurried off like their boots were on fire.

Hilda did not want to just let them go, "Hey wait!" she angrily called after them and ran for the park. She got there by following the giant ferris wheel. She stopped where there were less people and her eyes scanned all around. She stopped upon seeing a shadow of a taller person appear on the ground behind her.

She spun around and was surprised to see N right there! How did she not notice him?

"Are you looking for Team Plasma?" He calmly asked.

"Yes! I am! Did you see them? Where did they go!?"

"Calm down. Now, follow me. We'll search for them together."

She and N walked all around the amusement park, with not much luck finding them.

"I'm sorry you got dragged into this." Hilda spoke, "It's just that... they steal Pokémon from people and it's not the right thing. In fact, it's for the stupidest reason I've ever heard."

"Hmm." Was his only response, "Come on, we'll get a better view from the ferris wheel. Perhaps we can see them from there."

"Um... okay."

They passed through the gate attendant and the metal push-through gate and loaded onto the next empty cart. As the ferris wheel span, N admitted, "I love Ferris wheels. The circular motion… The mechanics… They're like collections of elegant formulas."

Hilda said nothing, instead she kept watching out the window. Hoping to catch a glimpse of the Plasma thieves.

N cleared his throat, "I have something I must tell you Hilda."

"What's that?" She replied, while still staring out the window.

He paused, then said, "I am the King of Team Plasma."

"Hmm... wait, what!?" She suddenly sparked.

"Ghetsis asked me to work with him to save Pokémon." He explained.

Hilda couldn't believe it, this mystery guy, he's with Team Plasma! Not only that, he's the KING! Her heart raced, and she certainly didn't feel comfortable being in this ferris wheel with him anymore!

"You work with that crazy Ghetsis person!?" She blurted out, "Why!?"

"Because I have to save the Pokémon." His voice sterned, "And for the record, that 'crazy Ghetsis person' is my father."

Just when she couldn't be more pumped on adrenaline she got loaded. She REALLY could not wait for the ferris wheel to get back to the gate. It just couldn't do that fast enough, when it did however, she was out of there faster than the dad from Happy Wheels. While he slowly strode out behind her.

He followed her around the ferris wheel gate's corner, out of public view.

"You're quite strong. But I have a future that I must change." He stated, "And, for that future... I'll defeat the Champion and become unbeatable, unlike any other!"

"What are you doing this for?" Hilda questioned.

"I'll make all the trainers free their Pokémon!"

"You can't do that!" She strongly objected.

He backed her into the wall, "Just try and stop me!" he challenged.

She shoved him away, "Okay back up!" He stumbled backwards, then she tried to walk away, saying, "You'll never take my Pokémon from me!"

He sped walked up to her and grabbed her wrist roughly, "I'm not done talking yet." He hissed. She punched his arm repeatedly, but he wouldn't let go.

"If you want to be together with Pokémon, your only hope is to collect the Badges from each area and head for the Pokémon League!" He yanked her closer, almost making her fall, "If your conviction is not strong enough, you will never be able to defeat me. Try and stop me if you dare!"

All the while she continued to fight him, she then stepped on his toes, "Let go!" He didn't seem fazed at all by the stomp, but he let go anyway. She took off into the city immediately.

N watched her go, then his Plasma subordinates appeared, "My lord N!"

"You're safe sire!"

Both were covered in garbage and water. N nodded, "Very good."

* * *

Hilda ran until she wore out, she stopped in front of the Pokémon musical to catch her breath, rubbing her reddened wrist.

"Hilda!?"

She looked up, "Hey Bianca what's up?"

"Are you okay? You look totally freaked out! And what happened there!?" She pointed at Hilda's wrist.

Hilda thought up a lie, "Oh it's nothing Bianca, it's just... these punks tried to mess with me and I had to give them a lesson in pain."

"Oh... are you okay though?" Bianca worried.

"I'm fine Bianca. Did you see the musical?"

She sighed, "There wasn't anything on show yet, so I'll come back some other time. But I heard that-"

"There you are Bianca!" Came an older voice.

Both girls were shocked at who it was.

"Daddy!? What are you doing here?" Bianca freaked.

"I've come to take you back home of course!" He insisted, "Your mother told me you made it all the way out here! Haven't you gone far enough?"

Bianca ducked behind Hilda, "No way! I'll keep traveling with Hilda and my Pokémon!"

He stepped close, "Absolutely not! Others do things their way, we do things ours!"

"Is that so? Well how about you do things your way and I do things mine?"

Before he could say anything else, a female voice came from the side, "Sweetie you keep going on your travels." It was a beautiful woman with a curvy figure and long legs.

"Who do you think you are!?" Bianca's father snapped, "This is a family matter!"

The blonde woman introduced herself, "My name is Elesa. I'm this town's Gym Leader. I also happen to be a model." she walked to the side, "You know, there are many people in this world. There are people whose way of thinking may be completely different from yours. Sometimes, this means you may get hurt."

Bianca's father agreed, "Of course! That's exactly right! I'm worried about that..."

She countered, "But it's important to keep trying, to learn about the differences between yourself and others... To learn that being different is OK. And you shouldn't worry. Trainers always have Pokémon at their side. Pokémon are wonderful. It's not only how cute they can be, but also how much you can depend on them..."

Bianca approached her father, "Please! I know there's gonna be painful things like your worried about! I get it, really! But, like, listen, there'll be tons of nice people too."

Her father was amazed.

"You know what?" She continued, "Since I've been traveling with Pokémon, I've already gotten a lot tougher! So... please?"

He pondered, "Hmm... I guess. If wanting to continue your journey is selfishness on your part, wanting to stop you is selfishness on mine. I'm surprised to find I'm the one being childish-at my age! This Gym Leader's comments helped me wake up. Bianca, I'm sure it's better that you take the path you want to take now."

Bianca was joyful, she embraced her father, "Thanks daddy!"

"I hope that your journey will be fun. Bon voyage!" He approached Hilda, "Hilda...please... Take care of my little girl, okay?" He walked away.

"I'm sure he traveled as a Trainer himself, in the past... Being a parent must be hard." The tall woman observed, she looked at the girls, "Did I meddle unnecessarily? You looked troubled, so I decided to chime in."

"It's no problem." Bianca forgave, "Thanks for your help!"

The first thought that came to Hilda's mind, "You're the gym leader? I would like to challenge you!"

"In that case, please stop by the Pokémon Gym. I'll teach you a little something about how tough a journey can get!" She headed back to the gym.

Hilda now knew what she was going to do, what she had to do. Collect all of the badges, and stop N's devious plot! She has three badges now, her next step would be to defeat Elesa!


	15. Chapter 15: One Step at a Time

Hilda calmly strode to the Nimbasa gym located in the amusement park with Bianca tagging along. Hilda hoped that Team Plasma and N had left already. She's heard more than enough not-so-pleasant information today.

"I'll be challenging all of the gyms across the region and obtaining the badges." She blurted out, "You know, like what Cheren's doing."

Bianca was interested, "So that's what you want to do. That's cool! So, what made you decide?"

Hilda suddenly felt nervous, _"I can't tell her what I heard about N…"_ she thought,_ "No telling how she'd react. I just have to give her a smooth excuse."_

She chuckled, "I just thought it'd be fun to compete with Cheren and all. Plus Pokémon battles are quite fun."

"I suppose they are." Bianca shrugged, "I'm not really good at those. I seem to lose more than I win. So I don't think that's what I really want to do."

Hilda encouraged, "Well, I'm sure there's something you're good at. You just have to find it."

"I'll do it! Maybe I won't figure it out today, or the next day! But I will find out! So, I take it you're going to challenge the gym now?"

"Right, it's over there. I'm gonna get going now, take care of yourself Bianca!" Hilda took off for the gym.

"Good luck!"

The gym was quite dark when Hilda first entered, but got brighter as she walked in further. Neon lights lit the gym radiantly.

Elesa greeted her sweetly, "I knew you were coming!"

"Elesa I challenge you to a match!" Hilda got right to it.

The model clapped her hands together, "My beloved Pokémon will make your head spin!"

"Let's go!"

* * *

Inside a static cave outside of Driftveil City, the city west of Nimbasa, N sets a Pokémon free. The Pokémon seems very disappointed, looking back at N with unsure eyes.

"Thank you my friend." N softly said, "Return to the peaceful life you lived before."

The Pokémon sadly turned around and walked away reluctantly, N was so nice to it so it didn't want to go away…

The Plasma grunt accompanying him is confused as well, "Lord N, why are you releasing your Pokémon?"

N sighs, "I can't…. I just can't keep Pokémon confined in Poke balls!"

The grunt raised an eyebrow.

N explained, "Besides… Pokémon who stay with their trainers, they will battle… and they will be hurt… Even if it is for changing the world to protect Pokémon… It's too hard for me to put them through such pain…"

"But..." The grunt protested, "Ever since we were young, we've caught Pokemon and made them battle. It's been that way for so long… That's just how the world works, isn't it?"

N shook his head, "Who decided that catching Pokemon and making them battle each other is how the world works? That wasn't how things were before Poke Balls were invented!" He put his foot down, "The rules that govern this world! They're wrong!"

Now the Grunt was beginning to understand N's logic, "T-that's true… I guess, I'll just let my Pokemon go, then." He took out his Pokemon to repeat N's action.

Instead, N grabbed his arm, "Not yet. The world hasn't changed yet. The time to free your Pokémon will be when I befriend the Unova region's legendary Dragon-type Pokemon, surpass the champion, and become the hero!"

The grunt put away his Pokémon, "Well then, I'll head to the next destination." He walked away, for the next city.

N stood there, collecting his thoughts.

"I will separate Pokémon and people, and black and white will be clearly distinct! Only then will Pokémon become perfect beings!"

He looked down, "But then why…. Why did that Pokémon seem so sad to leave me?" His mind suddenly reminded him of Hilda, that strong trainer he challenged repeatedly.

"Hilda!" He yelled out suddenly, before pacing slowly, "Is it because of that trainer that my heart wavers now? Were the words of the Pokémon in Accumula Town really true?"

His eyes widened slightly, "Does that mean… Hilda is an ideal trainer?" He clenched his fist,

"The cries of the suffering Pokémon filling that room... The borderline between Pokémon and humans... I exist on that line. I live in the margins between everyone, so I will save them! I will change the world! And to that end, I must fight to the finish with Hilda!"

* * *

At a local gathering outside Nimbasa City, just before the Driftveil Drawbridge, Cheren gazed at his newly obtained Bolt Badge, "All right. This is another step toward Championship! I'll need to get stronger!"

"Out of my way! Out of my way!"

He recognized that voice anywhere, "Oh geez here comes Bianca..." He turned to face her.

And saw she was gaining on him fast!

"OUT OF MY WAAAAY!"

"BIANCA STOP!"

Too late, she crashed into him full speed ahead. He went flying right into a nearby juggler, who in turn stumbled around causing him to lose his focus. The balls he was juggling scattered all over the road. People began to slip and fall including a man on his motorcycle! A nearby cook was so shocked he flipped a burger patty right off the grill!

The hot piece of meat landed directly on Cheren's forehead.

"YEOWCTH!" He jumped up and stumbled backwards, only to fall again when the back of his leg hit the tipped motorcycle.

An elderly man with fire hair stepped outside a trailer and his eyes widened upon the mess, "What in the-? What in Arceus happened here!?"

Bianca sat up and was horrified at what she had done, "Oh my gosh..."

Cheren jolted upright, mad as an irritated combee. His glare shot right for Bianca. She noticed that angry look, and she knew she had to start running. She squealed loudly, jumped to her feet and took off running with Cheren dashing right after her.

The fire haired man ran out in the middle of the road upon hearing the shrieking, and noticed the blonde girl running and screaming with a boy wearing glasses chasing her.

Despite his age he steadied himself, at the right time he jumped between Bianca and Cheren, halting them both.

"What just happened out here!?" He questioned, causing the teenagers to stop squabbling.

Bianca meekly admitted, "I fell into Cheren."

He looked at the sprawled people, then at Cheren. Who was still angry, "Bianca you should be more careful!" He scolded.

"I'm so sorry." She apologized, "I didn't mean it. Please don't be mad Cheren."

The elderly man looked upon the disarray of people gathering themselves, "Hm... you sure made a mess. I request that the two of you help clean this up."

"Yes sir!" Bianca agreed without pause, "Right away!" She ran into the crowd and started picking up various items. Cheren hesitated a moment before helping out.

* * *

"Hilbert? Do you really think I'm ready for this responsibility?" Iris asked worryingly.

"Of course Iris!" He encouraged his friend brightly, he seemed surprised that Iris would have doubts about herself, "Drayden bestowed the gym leader title on you because he knew you could do it! You're dragons are super strong too!"

She smiled, "I guess you're right. Okay then! Let the training begin!"

* * *

**Author's Note: On that note, HAPPY HOLIDAYS! :DDDDDDDDDDDDDD**

**I would take this time to note that I now have a DeviantArt! ^.^**

**Type in WildForestFairy and it should come up :)**

**Stay flying! :D**


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